The Tale of the Namikaze Clan
by Basstard09
Summary: What if Minato and Kushina survived the Kyuubi's sealing and Naruto's birth? How would that change our blonde knucklehead? NaruHina after some chapters.
1. Chapter 1: Attack of the Kyuubi

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters.**

Chapter 1: Attack of the Kyuubi.

October 10th. It was a terrible day in the Hidden Leaf Village. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox known as Kyuubi had attacked the Ninja village three days ago, and several Leaf ninjas have died defending it from the demon. This battle would last for a lot longer than expected. Luckily, a character that wasn't exactly expected entered the village, and was starting to assist the wounded, reducing the casualties greatly.

Tsunade, the Slug Princess, and one of the Legendary Sannin, was right beside the Toad Sage, Jiraiya, her teammate, and several other great ninjas, putting their lives on the line. Her teenager and very talented apprentice, Shizune, was actually handling a very important business too in a small apartment. Minato Namikaze, the blond and powerful Fourth Hokage, was fighting the Kyuubi alongside his partner, the Toad Boss Gamabunta, and his team members Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha and Rin Inuzuka. That meant that he was not being able to assist to her girlfriend's childbirth, and it seemed that she was having lots of trouble.

Shizune was actually working extra with the Chuunin medic ninjas, helping Kushina Uzumaki with her already complicated childbirth. The assistant medics brought her lots of blood packs to start blood transfusions to the red-headed pregnant woman, as she worked with all she'd got to heal the terrible wounds she had, all the while she attended the childbirth.

Shizune saw her and, seeing how not only she got better, but also that her baby was born with no more issues for any of them, she decided to draw the baby out and spank him to wake him up. He was blond, just like his father, and Kushina, who could actually se him crying, alive, said, with tired voice:

- Minato needs him… Minato needs Naruto, in order to… to defeat the Kyuubi… Take Naruto to him…

A couple of medics took the baby to the battlefield, while Shizune attended her internal organs, doing her best to heal the new mother, but glad that she could make it out of the most dangerous path.

In the battlefield, Minato was accompanied by Jiraiya's green toad, Gamahiro, and both Kakashi and Obito were assisting them from the ground. All of a sudden, Obito decided to try something, and let Kakashi know:

- Kakashi, I'll try to see what's keeping the Kyuubi so enraged. Watch my back.

Kakashi nodded, knowing that Obito would attempt to use his Sharingan on the Kyuubi. Suddenly, Obito's skin turned pale and started crying and trembling in fear as he stared at the Kyuubi:

- I-It c-c-cannot be…

Kakashi snapped his partner from the lapse, slapping his cheek fiercely. Obito, who had already deactivated his bloodline, looked at Kakashi and said, with trembling voice:

- I know what's going on with the Kyuubi…

In that moment, the two medics arrived to the back of Gamabunta, showing the baby Naruto to his father, the Fourth Hokage. Even the old Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage that gave his position to the blond known as "the Leaf's Flash", was fighting to keep the Kyuubi at stake. Tsunade saw Minato looking at his son, with a sad smile, and then she saw him arming lots of seals that she immediately recognized. _The Seal of the Death God, no, what's he thinking?!_ Tsunade yelled:

- Minato!! What the hell do you think you're doing?!

Minato armed the seals and the figure of a death god appeared behind him, and he laid his newborn son in the head of Gamabunta. Tsunade jumped to him, whole Jiraiya and Gamahiro were stopping Kyuubi from attempting his attack on Gamabunta. The Death God started to take the Kyuubi's chakra, and draw it into the baby's body slowly.

Minato was getting really tired, and the sealing technique wasn't exactly too helpful about it, as it took so much energy from the sealer to summon the Death God and force the sealed creature's chakra into the living recipient that it could actually kill the sealer. Tsunade knew this and summoned Katsuyu, the Slug Queen. The slug did something Minato didn't expect: she had split herself into lots of smaller slugs, giving their chakra to the Fourth Hokage as he attempted the seal.

The Kyuubi didn't expect that either; and he saw how his own energy was being absorbed into the child. Obito, who attempted again to use his Sharingan on the demon, faced the controller, and suddenly realized how the powerful Sharingan user withdrew from the demon's head. He actually did so too, as he started to feel how the Fox's chakra was being sucked by the seal. Obito fell to the floor, crying blood, and Kakashi took him to Rin, getting her to heal him.

Minato, realizing that not only he was getting extra energy to attempt the seal, but that also the Kyuubi was out of his rage attack, he realized that he could seal the whole Kyuubi inside his son, else than what he had thought: only its Yang energy. As the sealing ended, after almost an hour from the sealing attempt, Minato fell from the Boss Toad's head, with the baby in his arms, but he ended up falling in Tsunade's arms, unconscious. Tsunade saw the slugs and said:

- You know what to do, Katsuyu.

- Yes, lady Tsunade.

Minato, on his side, was actually feeling the light vanish from his own body, and the last thing he remembered seeing was a group of slugs jumping over him before he passed out.

He found himself in a weird, dark sewer, and he saw that, ahead of him, there was a metallic-barred jail with a label that had the word "seal" on it. He saw a large, fire red fox growling on the other side of the jail, screaming with a deep and loud voice:

- What the hell did you do to me?!?! I'm going to kill that bastard, and then I'm going to **kill you**, Minato Namikaze!!

Minato saw it with a serious look, and said:

- Who is _that bastard_, Kyuubi? Speak now and perhaps I'll let you live inside my son.

Kyuubi tried to jump towards the huge, solid gate, getting an electric shock and also a fierce wind slash that hurt its ribcage deeply. Kyuubi realized that Minato's face wasn't exactly happy, or defying, or simply irritating. He was serious, and he actually had pain in his eyes. _The same pain I have, actually._ Minato said then:

- Please, lord Kyuubi, I know this is just too much for both of us, even when, as I can say, we're both still alive, but please, help us. I know we wouldn't have dared to mess up with you before, but you got used by someone powerful, and I was forced to do this, so no more people from our village would die.

Kyuubi realized the words were sincere, and replied:

- The Eternal Sharingan…

Minato was suddenly shocked to hear those words. _It's no way that this could be…_ Minato said:

- I see… then, this is a lot more wrong than what we had expected. Kyuubi, I'm afraid that I cannot let you out yet.

Kyuubi growled, frowning:

- And now what? You've just put me behind bars "to protect me"?

Minato simply stated:

- I know very well that the other eight demons are actually catching his attention, and I think I know what his objective might be.

Kyuubi just asked, tired:

- And what could that objective be?

- Attempting the fusion of the Nine Tailed Beasts into the legendary Juubi, the Ten-Tails. And I'm pretty sure you don't actually want that to happen again.

Kyuubi saw him and started thinking. _Well, actually, right here I'm some sort of a prisoner inside this child, but I'm actually myself, and not just an aspect of a more evil conscience._ It said:

- Well, I must agree with you that I don't want to go back to the mind of that beast. But I want my revenge on that Sharingan.

Minato smiled gently and said:

- I'll make sure that my son doesn't abuse of you, and that he learns how to handle you properly.

Kyuubi chuckled:

- What could a small child do?

Minato also chuckled:

- You wouldn't have any idea how imaginative could a boy be.

His chuckle dropped back to a serious tone and said, before leaving:

- Once more, Kyuubi, I'm really sorry that things had turned up to be like this, but be glad that I could seal you whole.

Minato vanished from that place, and Kyuubi just sat there, pondering his words. It'd have to wait some years before its host could understand of him, and this would become such a long wait.

Minato suddenly could hear a loud crying voice and opened his eyes, finding himself in a well-known hospital. He saw Tsunade and Jiraiya carrying the young Naruto and playing with him. _They two just look a lot better than me like parents, heh, heh._ Jiraiya saw his student wake up and said:

- Minato! You're finally awake, kid!

Tsunade showed him the baby and said, with a huge smile on her face:

- Your kid is just like you, but he seems to have his mother's temper!

Minato suddenly remembered that his dear Kushina was badly wounded, and asked, jumping from the bed:

- What happened to Kushina, master? Lady Tsunade?

Minato was really worried, but Jiraiya and Tsunade just stared to the other side of the room, smiling. Minato turned to see what they were seeing and he found the image if his beautiful, red-headed girlfriend seeing him, smiling cheerfully as she dried some tears from her face:

- You finally made it back home, my dear.

- Kushina…

Both blushed, as Minato received the crying baby from Tsunade's hands. Both took a look at the baby and smiled, blushed. Kushina said, teasing:

- He surely has my temper, damn!

Minato replied too:

- I'd have never thought that a small baby like him could have such lungs. Do you see how much he cries?

Kushina smiled:

- That's the Uzumaki blood, Minato, heh, heh.

Minato handed Kushina the baby, with Jiraiya's help, and she breast-fed him, calming him up as he sucked from the red-headed shinobi's breast. Jiraiya looked at Tsunade and said:

- I can't even imagine what would have happened if _you_ were Naruto's mother, Tsunade.

Tsunade, realizing that Jiraiya was looking at her own breasts again glared daggers at him, making him laugh nervously and run away, scared. The couple in bed was also laughing from both the joke and Jiraiya's scared-cat reaction, but Tsunade also glared daggers at them:

- Anyone gets to know of that joke from you and I'll kill everyone who does using your dead corpses as sledgehammers!

Minato and Kushina laughed too with that, and Tsunade couldn't avoid a smirk. _These two are just too happy like for getting freaked out with any of my grumpy threats._ She said:

- Well, I guess I'll just leave you family alone. I hope that I can see you soon, and take care of your child.

- We'll do, lady Tsunade. – Kushina was the one who answered.

After the talk, the Sannin left, leaving the happy couple and their baby boy alone. Kushina's eyes turned glassy as she said:

- I thought I wouldn't see you again, my dear…

- Me too, my love… it was Tsunade who didn't let me die with the seal…

Kushina smiled back and said:

- Well, that's great, because I didn't intend to breed this loud-mouthed child on my own!

Minato chuckled, blushed, and said:

- Then I guess I shall leave the paperwork to the Old Man. I actually want my son to grow up with both parents. Also, I know the people won't actually see him with good eyes, so I guess it's better that we both are there for Naruto.

Kushina blushed too and said:

- And I'd love to see you in a daily basis too.

- I love you, Kushina, and even if we cannot get married, I won't ever want to leave your side.

- And I love you too, Minato. I don't care about marriage at all, as our love has just become true.

Both moved their beds to get close to each other, and after that they kissed each other's lips. Minato would have to prepare to face the Council of Elders to ask for his remission as Hokage, giving the chance to the old Sarutobi to deal with the usual _paperwork from hell_ as he raised his son. The baby Naruto fell asleep in Kushina's arms, and both stared at him, realizing the miracle of nature and the result of their love.

End of Chapter 1.

A/N: I came up with this one today. I don't think that I can update it as faster as my other one: Love and Strength, Orange and Blue, but I'll do my best to work on it too. This one seems quite promising, so please review!


	2. Chapter 2: Tensions in the Clans

**Disclaimer: I ****don't own Naruto.**

It's quite difficult for me to adapt myself to using quotation marks for speeches, so I'll try to state in a better way when one character is speaking.

Chapter 2: Tensions in the Clans.

The first year after the Kyuubi's attack had been difficult for the once again chosen Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. The stockpile of paper was absurdly huge in this year, and mostly because of the different reactions of the Clans towards the situation with Minato and his family.

The first Clan who stepped forward was the Uchiha Clan. Even when Obito Uchiha supported his master and his decisions, proving himself wise to the eyes of the old Hokage, the rest of his Clan didn't share his light. Fugaku Uchiha seemed to dislike the decision of letting Naruto live at all; but the Sarutobi elder knew very well that the Uchiha elders were just jealous of not having such power between their ranks. So, they didn't mean an immediate threat.

The other Clan that jumped to throw its opinion was the Hyuuga Clan. The Hyuuga elders seemed quite fond of Minato, and both the Clan Head, Hiashi Hyuuga, and his twin brother Hizashi, owed him their lives. They were actually willing to support Minato and Kushina in whatever was necessary, especially if it concerned Naruto's safety. The Third Hokage knew that this support from the Hyuugas was also actually the main reason for the Uchihas to oppose Naruto's life.

Clans like the Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi seemed to have not many problems with Minato and Kushina, but they were quite concerned about Naruto. In a council meeting they had, as the three clans' heads stated (what meant, a night out at a bar, drinking some sake), that they wouldn't give much support for the child if his behavior seemed to resemble the one of Kyuubi. _That's just an irregularly weird position to attain, for the master strategist Shikaku Nara, the master mentalist Inoichi Yamanaka and the master tactician Chouza Akimichi. But, as long as Naruto behaves properly towards the people, they should not complain._

The Inuzuka Clan didn't make a response at all. Perhaps they didn't care about the business at all, or they simply were discussing the situation yet. The Aburame Clan maintained itself as neutral as always, not willing to take a position without any more facts. The other minor Clans and Ninja families were complaining a bit, but they could be handled.

The biggest problem was brought by the Civilian Council. The people had lost their hopes about Minato Namikaze. For them, he was a great Hokage and a great asset during the days of war, but now _he brought a demon to these lands_, to live with their children, and now they feared the most. _Assholes, they still think of that baby as the Kyuubi. If the Uchihas know of this, they'll make a mess out of this village, something that will be tough to handle even for me._

Hiruzen Sarutobi then did something, as an idea came out to his head. He started writing down a paper scroll, and when he was done, he signed the scroll and sealed it with the Hidden Leaf Village's seal. _This law shall get Minato and Kushina out of trouble for some years._

The next day, Minato and Kushina were walking down the streets as they carried the young Naruto. Minato asked, playfully:

- How about seeing if little Naruto can walk outside from home?

Kushina replied:

- That's a good idea!

Minato put the baby on the floor, and both he and Kushina ducked, staring one in front of the other, and playing Naruto into walking from one to the other. Naruto, laughing while seeing Kushina's funny gestures, walked slowly, reaching her. As she congratulated him, carrying him with a hug and funny voices, she put him back on the ground, turning him to face Minato. The kid walked towards his father, and when he arrived, Minato also congratulated him, carrying him with another hug. Then, they decided to go to the Hyuuga compound.

Hiashi Hyuuga received them in the Hyuuga manor, besides his wife, Higan, and his baby child, Hinata. Hiashi saluted them quite merrily, for being a Hyuuga, and Higan actually smiled at the little blond baby with whisker marks. Higan greeted them:

- Please, come in, Minato, Kushina. We can make some tea while the kids play.

Minato walked besides Hiashi, taking the babies to a place where a third baby, almost identical to Hiashi, was sitting, surrounded with toys. As they saw the blond boy play with the indigo-haired girl and the dark brown-haired boy of the Hyuugas, they started talking. Hiashi spoke first:

- I'm really glad to know that Naruto is already one year old. He looks quite sane.

Minato chuckled nervously, taking a hand to his hair:

- Well, the kid is just so hyperactive, Lord Hiashi. I hope your girl and Hizashi's boy can actually calm him down for a bit.

Hiashi couldn't avoid a smile, after seeing the young Naruto play with Hinata and Neji, Hizashi's son. After a while, both Higan and Kushina brought tea and some cups. Hizashi joined the group, but just to advice his twin brother that a message had arrived. Minato greeted him, and asked him to stay. Hizashi, quite nervous, looked at his twin brother, fearful that he might not be wanted there. Hiashi just answered:

- If you got nothing else to do, we should enjoy your company, brother.

Hizashi bowed nervously, something that made the whole group uneasy:

- I'm so sorry, but I guess this time I cannot stay with you.

Hiashi noticed that Hizashi was sweating profusely, and he asked, before Hizashi attempted to leave nervously:

- Hizashi, brother, what's going on? Come here.

Minato noticed that something was very wrong. He saw the babies, and there was nothing wrong about them. They were playing nicely, actually, and the three of them were laughing. Then, Kushina noticed that Hizashi was looking at the picture of one of the Hyuuga's elders. She bluntly asked:

- Lord Hiashi, who is that one from the picture?

Hiashi realized that his twin was looking at it and growled:

- I ordered to remove this picture… damn, I guess I'll have to burn it, if it doesn't seem to want to leave this place.

Hiashi took the picture of the Hyuuga elder and used his bloodline trait, the Byakugan. Lots of veins popped out in his temples, enhancing his lavender eyes. He then got very serious, and ran to the outside of the house. Then, the people who looked outside saw Hiashi use a Fire Style technique on the picture. Then, after a while, he brought the picture back to the house. It wasn't burned at all, but Hizashi felt a lot better after his twin's action. Kushina asked, curious:

- I know this could be some sort of weird intromission, lord Hiashi, but, what the hell had just happened?

Hizashi still waited in the living room's corridor, while Hiashi said:

- Somehow, the Branch Family members have been feeling quite uneasy, and even fearful, around the Hyuuga compound. I fear for my daughter's life and for my brother's son's too.

Hizashi spoke, after Hiashi ended his words:

- I guess someone inside the Clan is actually upset about our decision to support you, lord Namikaze, lady Uzumaki. I still don't know who it is, but it's starting to worry me.

Minato said, in a natural thinking pose:

- This is quite weird, actually. Someone wanting to control the Hyuuga Branch Family to hurt the Main Family… I don't actually think that it's an insider's initiative…

Hiashi replied, while Higan checked on the babies:

- I'm suspecting it too. It's something that's outside our lines. This mind-bending sort of technique through fear is not even registered between the Hyuuga's eldest scrolls.

Higan carried Hinata and put her on the table. Then, she carried Neji, doing the same. Kushina, meanwhile, stood up and took Naruto. Minato asked:

- And, what do you plan on doing then, lord Hiashi?

- I shall speak to Inoichi Yamanaka, and to Ibiki Morino. They should give me some advice about this.

- I'd like to help, lord Hiashi – Minato showed himself eager to assist, and Hiashi thanked for it on his inside: -. I shall have a person I know from the Uchihas to tell me if, somehow, this isn't a threat from them. As I've known, you two have been dealing with each other roughly the last years.

Hiashi replied:

- Yes… since that kid Obito Uchiha started dating my young cousin, Lady Himitsu, the elders from both Clans started a feud. I really like your student, and I think he's a great influence for my cousin, but then I guess this will end up badly.

Higan said then:

- She actually asked to be released from the Clan, with the Caged Bird Seal on her forehead, and she was granted to leave with Obito. Actually, he's also living outside the Uchiha compound, in an apartment in the center of town.

Hiashi smiled then, and said:

- Well, Minato, I guess I could use your help. Let's go and talk to the Hokage. Higan, go with my brother and Kushina to her home, and take the kids. We don't want any risks for them.

Higan nodded, and the two Hyuugas, with the babies, followed Kushina.

In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was actually dealing with Fugaku Uchiha when Minato and Hiashi arrived. Hiruzen smiled ironically and said:

- Welcome, my friends. Welcome.

Fugaku looked them over his shoulder, and kept talking as if they weren't there:

- I tell you that there's something threatening my family! Some sort of weird chakra that turns my people totally freaked out!

Minato whispered to Hiashi:

- Now we know that the Uchiha ninjas aren't responsible for it.

Hiashi said, after nodding:

- We're under the same situation, lord Hokage. The Branch Family is actually having a rough time inside the Hyuuga compound, as some sort of mentalist is using chakra to spread fear through the whole compound.

Fugaku looked at the Huuyga Clan Head, and sighed, as he actually wanted the Hyuugas to take the blame. Hiruzen said:

- Well, there are no other reports from other Clans yet, but-

Inoichi Yamanaka entered the room, quite tired, and with small slashes in his body:

- Mentalist ninjas! Invading the village! They attacked my place! And the Akimichi manor!

Hiashi activated his Byakugan, while Fugaku did the same with his Sharingan. Then, behind the Hokage, a group of five ninjas entered the office, ready to kill the Hokage. Minato's reaction was instinctive, throwing several kunai to the closest ones to the old man. Fugaku started attacking one of the ninjas, while Hiashi engaged two. Minato said:

- I must check out on my wife! They're probably here for my son!

- And for mine! – Hiashi stated: - Take care of them for me, Minato!

Fugaku took the ninja he was fighting against and used a Genjutsu he used for interrogations, searching inside his mind while causing pain with his Sharingan, and what he found was scary, even for him:

- They want to steal our children! And brainwash them against us!

As the group got done, they went to their respective manors, except for Hiashi, who ran to Minato's house.

At the Namikaze house, Kushina was fighting three ninjas on her own, and seemed to not have much trouble. Kushina was a Water-style ninja, and many of her techniques could be done by drawing water from the air. She armed a couple of hand seals and the water in the air around her enemies gained so much pressure that, when she moved her hands, the water pierced them like senbon needles, but also they pierced through their bodies, killing them instantly.

Higan and Hizashi Hyuuga were having some trouble, as their enemies were sword fighters. They would have to keep their distance, and that was a disadvantage for a Gentle Fist Style fighter. The group started attacking the Hyuugas, who were fiercely defending the babies, with their short swords. They could draw some blood out of Higan, but then she managed to get rid of one of them.

Hizashi wasn't having it too well, but then Minato arrived, kicking the door open and forming a chakra orb sized as a bowling ball. This chakra orb hit Hizashi's enemy in his back, destroying his spine, and throwing him dead on the floor. The cries of the three babies inside the house made them realize that they were fine. Hizashi said:

- I don't think they intend on attacking any other Hyuuga house, as Neji is the only unsealed child in the manor. A sealed Hyuuga won't work for them at all.

Minato said then:

- Got it, lord Hizashi. Go and help at the Nara house, I saw them having some trouble over there.

- Right away! Take care of lady Higan; she got slashed by one of those guys' swords.

Minato saw Hizashi leave, while Kushina bandaged Higan Hyuuga's wound in her side.

In the Aburame compound, the insects were flying everywhere, and some of them were actually attacking some of the Aburame ninjas that actually commanded them. Shibi Aburame opened a scroll and summoned a man-sized bee. The insect spoke:

- What is this, Shibi?

- Mentalists! They'll use our insects against us, lord Kihachi!

- Hmm, let's see what I can do!

The bee jumped over a ninja that was entering the house to steal the young baby they had, and with the incredibly quick flap of its wings Kihachi could burn the man, and actually toast him. Shibi kept his insects back, drawing a couple of tonfas, and engaged in physical combat. After a while, Kihachi could get rid of the sneaking enemies, taking care of the child, while the last ninja, a rogue, masked female, jumped away, making her escape. Then, they heard her scream of pain and her moans as she got killed.

Obito Uchiha had run to the Uchiha compound with his girlfriend, Himitsu Hyuuga, and saw how one of the ninjas was taking both Itachi and the baby Sasuke out of the manor. The couple activated their respective bloodline traits, killing the enemy ninja with a combined blow. The two kids were recovered quickly, and brought back to the compound. Itachi, who was six years old already, saw his cousin Obito and said:

- I'm scared, cousin! They tried to kill mom!

Obito was fond of the young Itachi, even when he was the son of the despicable Fugaku Uchiha, the man who expulsed him from the Uchiha compound for falling in love with a Hyuuga. He said:

- Are there any other enemy ninjas inside the compound?

Itachi shook his head:

- No! I want to see mommy!

Obito and Himitsu looked at each other, nodding, and entered the Uchiha compound at full speed, carrying the two children. As they arrived to the Uchiha compound, they saw Mikoto Uchiha fighting desperately against a trio of black dressed and masked ninjas. They entered the house, putting Itachi and Sasuke aside, and both joined the combat. Mikoto was actually surprised to see Himitsu Hyuuga defending the children of the Uchiha Clan, side by side with her nephew Obito and herself. They quickly got rid of the enemies, turning their attention on the young children Itachi and Sasuke. Mikoto said:

- Thank you so much for coming, Obito, Himitsu! Where did you found the kids?

Himitsu spoke:

- We actually ran into the kidnapper, took him down and brought the kids home! The whole Clans are in the same situation! Even the Hyuugas are in trouble, and we should head there!

Obito asked, quite worried:

- Where is the rest of the Clan?

Mikoto said:

- Some of them were badly wounded, but they could repel the major threat. The lucky ones took the wounded to the hospital. I hope no one died.

Obito said then, taking Himitsu's hand:

- We shall be heading towards the Hyuuga compound.

- Don't dare to, Obito, Himitsu!

Fugaku Uchiha's strong voice sounded around the whole manor. Himitsu saw the Uchiha Head with concern, but he just said:

- The Branch Hyuugas, due to their Caged Bird Seal, are more likely to be controlled by the mentalists who attacked us. Hiashi said it to us in the Hokage's office. So, unless you want to kill Obito, don't go there.

Himitsu ran in anger, followed by Obito. Fugaku saw that the children were ok, and then turned to a bruised Mikoto, who ran to hug him desperately.

Obito stopped Himitsu outside of the Hyuuga compound's entry, and both could hear the sounds of great struggle inside of it. Himitsu activated her Byakugan again and checked inside the house. A strong headache hit her, and she kneeled, practically begging her boyfriend:

- Obito-kun! Take me out of here!

Obito carried Himitsu and both left towards the center of the village.

In the Nara compound, Shikaku Nara was actually on the ground, struggling against his enemy's mind attack, when another ninja jumped towards him with a kunai in his hand, aiming to pierce his neck. A white and brown blur intercepted the dark shinobi, striking him with lots of attacks. A second shinobi was hit with palm strikes loaded with chakra, and Shikaku could wake from his struggle. He saw Hizashi Hyuuga run through the house, but he couldn't listen to his son's voice.

Shikaku jumped outside of the house, finding that the kidnapper was attempting to make a run for it. He used his Shadow Binding technique, catching the kidnapper, and forcing him back into the house. Once he forced the kidnapper back inside, he released him just in time to see how Hizashi attacked him mercilessly. Then, the Hyuuga caught the baby, returning it to his worried mother, who was slightly wounded. Shikaku said:

- Thank you for your assistance, lord Hizashi.

Hizashi bowed, replying:

- I shall go back home now, lord Shikaku.

The Hyuuga left as fast as he came.

In the Hyuuga compound, Hiashi Hyuuga, Inoichi Yamanaka and Kegawa Inuzuka rushed through the whole Branch Family houses, getting rid of all the enemies that tried to steal in. After a few minutes, the few Branch Hyuugas who weren't badly injured, or fainted, or even dead, ran to thank Hiashi. He just said:

- I shall need some medics around here. Where are the medics?

A group of young Hyuuga teenagers who was hiding in a house got in, spreading to attend the wounded. Kegawa said, checking on his wounds:

- I better go to see if my family is okay.

- Me too, lord Hiashi. – Inoichi spoke. Hiashi replied:

- Thanks, lord Kegawa, lord Inoichi. We shall have a talk with lord Hokage soon.

The couple of Clan Heads left the Hyuuga compound, running to their respective houses. Luckily, it all had ended with not many casualties. The problem was that the dead bodies burst out in flames on their own, before anything could be checked on them. Luckily, there was a report of a survivor, already taken to Interrogation and Torture.

The next day, the Council of Elders was reunited early in the morning. The startled Clan Heads and Elders were yelling at the Two Elders, Homura and Koharu, who seemed strangely quiet today. The Hokage started, putting order:

- What happened tonight was a major flaw in our defenses. Actually, I'm beginning to wonder if anyone inside this place is actually a co-conspirator, as no one could have managed to realize that our major Clans had recently born children.

Homura said, defiantly:

- A shame that they didn't take the Uzumaki kid.

Minato saw the elder, who grinned towards him. Hiashi noticed this and replied:

- And, why so interested in bringing down the honorable Namikaze Clan, lord Homura? That makes of you an interesting suspect.

Homura jumped from his actual victory, reclaiming back:

- You could be so too, as the Hyuuga Branch ninjas could easily be controlled!

Shikaku Nara said:

- Then, I know that Branch Hyuuga ninjas assisted the Namikaze, the Uchiha and my Clan either. So, the Hyuugas couldn't have done this.

Homura growled, and Koharu suggested, also with some poison:

- We should ask Root to handle the investigations on this.

Chouza Akimichi replied quickly:

- So your beloved Danzou takes the credit for our job?

Kegawa Inuzuka said:

- I don't want that bastard as Hokage, and I know the Clans at least agree with this.

Fugaku put his grain of sand:

- And, on the other side, I know very well that you've been working quite smoothly to remove our influence from the village and discard Lord Sarutobi as Hokage.

Koharu turned to the Uchiha and yelled:

- You're defending the one who put the village in a poor level! We cannot even defend ourselves from an external threat!

Inoichi said:

- I'm afraid it's not an external threat. A captured raider was taken directly to Ibiki Morino, and he found that she was an active Leaf Ninja. The bodies of the others were strangely and effectively disposed of, before any of us could get any info on them.

Homura asked, challenging:

- And, how do we know that you didn't burn those corpses yourselves?!

This time, the answer came from Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage:

- Because the ones who attacked me also burned right after they died. It was triggered from outside, using that ANBU Black-Ops technique that, casually, both you and Danzou know.

Minato replied then, with renewed calmness:

- And then, as no one in here has been into ANBU Root, or involved with it, then you are the main suspects.

Fugaku had to agree with the young Fourth Hokage, as this situation was worrying:

- And, your behaviors are also too sloppy and suspicious. As the Chief of the Hidden Leaf's Police, I place you two under arrest, and will be immediately taken to Interrogation and Torture, until we can get Danzou's location.

Koharu saw the two Jounin that entered the hall and claimed:

- This cannot be done to us! We're the Advisor Elders of this damn village! We work for your best interests!

Shikaku replied, amused with her yell:

- Yeah, you work for our interests by kidnapping our children in favor of some power-lusty bastard.

The elders retired as Homura and Koharu were taken away. Hiruzen would judge them as traitors to the village, and after the desired information was gathered from them, they would be executed. At least, that would make Danzou show up sooner.

End of Chapter 2.

A/N: Names. Higan Hyuuga (the one I thought for Hiashi's wife, as far as I don't know it): Higan goes for "悲願", and means "one's dearest wish". Himitsu Hyuuga: Himitsu goes for "秘密" and means "secret". Please review, and stop complaining about the quotation marks, as I only use them to quote ideas, not to indicate speeches. Thanks again, and enjoy. =)


	3. Chapter 3: Playing and Learning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Chapter 3: Playing and Learning.

Naruto was already four years old, and he used to play around the park with his parents. Kushina was amused with the kid's boundless energy, and Minato was happy to play with the kid, as he suddenly showed some interest in being a shinobi, just like his parents. Kushina, pushing Naruto in the swings, noticed how some of the parents of the other children in the park took them away from him, not letting him play with them.

Minato, also seeing the scene, asked:

- Can it be that the word's been spreading around the village?

Kushina, as worried as her beloved one, said:

- They're ostracizing him at such a young age… what an insult to the heroes of this village…

Minato agreed, as Naruto jumped off the swing. He fell on his feet, rolling on the floor and standing back again. Minato smiled:

- Congratulations, Naruto-kun! You're rolling nicely!

- Thanks, daddy!

Kushina was applauding him:

- That's my boy! Nice rolling!

Both Minato and Kushina had realized that Naruto was a kid that learned better when playing, or when doing things on his own. He shouldn't be a book-smart guy, but he'd be intelligent when the time of action would come.

In that moment, Minato saw Higan Hyuuga arrive to the park, with the little Hinata holding her hand. She hid behind her mother's legs when she saw Naruto, and blushed furiously. Kushina saluted:

- Good afternoon, lady Higan. Bring little Hinata-chan to the park?

Higan, seeing her shy daughter behind her legs, said:

- Well, I guess I'm a bit late. Every other kid left already.

Minato saw Naruto getting sad, after Higan's words, and turned towards little Hinata:

- Hey, Hinata-chan! Want to play with Naruto-kun? He's looking for someone to play with.

Hinata, redder than a tomato, stuttered:

- P-p-play alone, w-w-with Na-Naruto-k-kun??

Naruto saw Hinata, getting sad as he thought that she didn't want to play with him either. Hinata felt ashamed, seeing him sad like that, and alone with his parents, and said, smiling gently:

- O-okay…

Naruto saw Hinata get close to him slowly, blushed, and a bit nervous, but she was happy, and the blonde boy could notice it. He walked towards her and said:

- Hey, Hinata-chan!

- H-h-hey, N-Naruto-kun!

- Want to play something?

Hinata looked at him and said, still stuttering:

- W-well… - Naruto let her speak, realizing that she was nervous: - I-I… I'd like to play in the g-gym, but… F-father says I'm too weak…

Naruto saw the sadness turning in her face. _How could her own father say that she's weak like that?_ He said, cheering her up:

- Well, let's give it a try! I've never played there either!

Naruto took Hinata's hand and ran with her to the gym. He started climbing the pipe structure, and saw Hinata on the ground, seeing how good he was doing. When he got to the top, he said, grinning like a fox:

- Heh, heh, I thought it would be a lot harder, Hinata-chan! Want to try?

Hinata nodded, and attempted climbing to the first pipe. She saw that she could climb it, and then went to the second. Naruto was cheering her up, and she realized that she could do it. When she got to Naruto, in the top of the structure, she was relieved and happy:

- I did it, Naruto-kun! I-I did it!

Higan was talking to Kushina and Minato when she heard Hinata and Naruto celebrating in the top of the pipe structure. Higan saw her and got worried, but Minato's comment eased her a lot:

- Hey! Naruto-kun! You found someone capable of climbing up there with you!

Kushina replied, teasing:

- Guess you won't need us anymore to play!

Naruto yelled:

- That's not fair, mom, dad!

Higan saw her daughter, so carefree and loosened when playing with Naruto, and realized that this kid could do good to her. _She's usually nervous in front of him, but when he does the right thing, she improves herself a lot. It's a shame that no one else could see her right now, especially Hiashi._ Hinata blushed every time that Naruto saw her to her eyes, but when he smiled, she would melt in joy. Naruto took her then to the slide, and then to the see-saw, and then they'd simply start running all over the park, playing like children, and not like what people saw in them: a monster and a high-class weirdo. Higan smiled, and then she continued talking to Minato and Kushina.

Hinata, after a while, had fallen to the ground, a little dizzy, and Naruto sat beside her, seeing her lavender eyes. Hinata blushed again and turned to a side, a little nervous. Naruto asked:

- What's wrong, Hinata-chan?

- Um…W-w-were you l-looking at my… eyes?

Naruto smiled:

- Sure! I really like your eyes! They suit you, Hinata-chan!

Hinata realized that Naruto had attempted a clumsy compliment about her eyes, but this was enough to make her smile, and blush furiously. Naruto asked:

- H-Hinata-chan… you're turning red… are you okay?

Hinata felt then Naruto's hand on her cheek, and the blood rushed to her head with more speed. Suddenly, she fainted. Naruto yelled then:

- Daddy! Hinata-chan's face turned red, and she fainted!

Minato didn't understand the words, while Kushina giggled. Higan saw Kushina's giggle and asked:

- What's going on?

- Hinata-chan likes our son! – The blunt answer of the Uzumaki ninja made Higan realize lots of things. She said then:

- Well, do you think she'd like to stay with him for a while? She'll wake up in a few minutes. I have to go to the bank.

Minato said, smiling gently:

- Sure! We can handle her, lady Higan!

Higan replied:

- Thank you, my friends. Take her home when you're done, please.

Higan left the park, seeing Hinata wake up, and play again with Naruto. Kushina saw the kids and said:

- I can't just believe that two kids can make life seem so easy…

Minato realized the depth of her words and said:

- And these are two kids who will have to live lots of hardships. Naruto has no friends at all, and almost all the village despises him… Hinata, on the other side, has no friends, and is treated like if she was made of crystal…

Kushina saw the two kids playing in the swings and said:

- I guess it's not a bad idea to keep them both together for as long as it's possible, Minato. If they can trust each other, they can also rely on each other to grow stronger, and overcome their fears.

Minato said:

- I really hope lord Hiashi sees it that way. He's been a bit harsh on Hinata lately, as she isn't still able to activate the Byakugan, like Neji-kun did the last year…

Kushina called the two kids, with an idea in her mind, and said:

- Naruto-kun! Hinata-chan! Let's play "hide-and-seek"!

Both kids jumped in joy when Kushina said those magic words. Minato realized then her idea and smiled. Kushina spoke:

- Minato and I will hide while you close your eyes and count up to twenty. You cannot open your eyes until you count up to twenty. Then, you two will look for us.

Hinata ran to the pipe gym and turned her back on them. Minato kept a watchful eye on the Hyuuga girl while Kushina whispered to Naruto:

- Naruto-kun, we're playing this so Hinata-chan can learn how to use her eyes.

Naruto's face showed that he didn't understand at all. Kushina said:

- Hinata can use her eyes to see the people's chakra, but she needs some help to do it. I count on you to bring her the idea if you cannot find us in ten minutes.

Naruto whispered back, after an amazed expression:

- And, what if she cannot do it?

- That's what I'm counting on you for, Naruto-kun. You can make her improve herself by just cheering her up, and she gathers courage and strength when you show trust to her. Help her, and she will help you find us.

Naruto remembered those words, and remembered when they played in the pipe gym a while ago. He got an idea, and ran towards Hinata. Both closed their eyes and started counting up to twenty. When they arrived, they saw an empty park.

They started looking for the adult shinobi, and, as expected, after ten minutes the kids couldn't find them yet. Naruto said, a bit innocently:

- Damn, I can't find them! Hinata, can you do something to find them? I've got no ideas!

Hinata got nervous and stuttered:

- W-w-w-well, N-Na-Naruto-k-kun, m-m-my f-family h-h-has this… t-this t-thing with t-t-the eyes…

Naruto, a bit interested to hear that from Hinata, demanded a better explanation merrily. Hinata said:

- Well, a-as my F-F-Father says to me, a-a H-Hyuuga can u-u-use h-his e-eyes, b-by sending ch-chakra t-to them, t-to s-s-see t-the other p-people's ch-chakra… th-they also f-f-fight u-using it…

Naruto was truly amazed, even more than when Kushina said it to him, and she noticed. _He's also interested in her; I just hope he's not such a blockhead as I was._ Naruto asked:

- Wow! That's amazing! Can you do that?

Hinata turned to a side, ashamed:

- N-No… n-not yet… a-and that makes m-my father… upset…

Naruto asked, also innocently:

- How about you give it a try? I'd like to see if you can do it! Pleeease!!

Hinata noticed that Naruto was smiling at her, using puppy eyes that she couldn't resist at, and she blushed, her heart pumping like mad. Naruto said, grinning again:

- I know you can do it, Hinata-chan! You could climb the whole pipe gym, so give it a try!

Hinata took a deep breath, smiling at Naruto. She focused herself and started arming hand seals. Naruto saw the hand seals, and knew of them, because his parents used them too, but then he saw how, in Hinata's temples, veins started popping out slowly. Hinata felt a little of pain, and Naruto ran to her side, seeing how her lavender eyes turned white. Hinata, getting up with Naruto's assistance, saw how her vision had changed completely. She saw everything in black and white, she saw Naruto having a small blue shine in his heart and his body, mixing up with a large, red one in his stomach, and then she saw smaller blue marks floating in the sky. When she realized that those were birds, she said, quite excited:

- I-I could do it, Naruto-kun!! I-I did it!!

Naruto was amazed to see her so happy again. Hinata started looking around, and saw the two large amounts of blue chakra in the high branches of a tree, concealed between the leaves. She pointed to the zones and said, still excited:

- They're on t-those b-b-branches, Naruto-kun!

Naruto took a couple of stones and threw them towards the branches. Minato and Kushina got out of their hideouts, holding both rocks on their hands. Minato was amazed to realize that Kushina's plan worked at all, and Kushina applauded too, as she said:

- That was awesome, Hinata-chan! You found me using your incredible eyes!

Naruto said, excited:

- It was amazing! She could find you in a second after that!

Hinata, blushed again, but also very happy, started talking, but then she fainted, losing the popped veins from her temples. Minato said, looking at the poor girl:

- She could actually do it. Let's go for an ice cream and then we take her to her home.

Naruto said a loud "yes", while Kushina carried Hinata. She was small, even smaller than Naruto, and she was too cute.

After Hinata waking up, the quartet had their ice creams, and then they carried her within the Hyuuga compound. The guards let them in, and Hiashi Hyuuga was waiting for them in the entry of the manor. Hinata waved goodbye to both Minato and Kushina, and Naruto said to her, grinning like a fox:

- Show your dad what you did in the park with us, Hinata-chan!

- I-I-I will, N-Naruto-k-kun! Bye!

- Bye! Hope to see you soon in the park, my friend!

Hiashi saw the happy family leave, and saw the also happy Hinata in front of them. He asked, out of curiosity:

- What did you do in the park with them, Hinata-chan?

Hinata, a bit nervous, said:

- W-well, Fa-Father, N-Naruto-kun and I were playing hide-and-seek w-with his p-parents…

Hiashi saw how the little Hinata started pressing her index fingertips together. _She's too shy for being a Hyuuga; this could turn out very badly for her in the future… also, she's not exactly too strong; for being the heiress of the Clan, that's a bad thing…_ He asked:

- All right, Hinata-chan, then, what happened?

- W-well, Father, I-I c-couldn't f-f-find them, b-but Na-Naruto-kun gave me… an idea… and l-look…

Hiashi saw his four-year old girl arming hand seals, and then he saw, frozen in awe, how his little daughter's temples were slowly full of popped veins, and saw how her eyes turned from lavender to total white. He carried her gently and asked:

- What do you see in me, Hinata-chan?

Hinata saw a blue blur moving in small threads through his father's body, and a blue flame in his chest. She said:

- I-I see blue fire… o-on your ch-chest, F-Father, and b-blue lines in y-your b-body… too…

Hiashi smiled, making Hinata smile too. _I can't believe she did it while playing in the park with Naruto. That kid actually got the best of her in ways I've never even thought of. I guess she learns in a different way than the rest of us, but she can gather the strength, the confidence and the courage when being with him._ Hiashi suddenly hugged his daughter, receiving a small hug from her too. He whispered:

- You can turn your Byakugan off, Hinata-chan. Congratulations, I'm proud of you…

Hinata slowly closed her eyes, feeling how the veins in her temples returned to their normal size. She couldn't be happier: she made a good friend of Naruto, she learned how to use her family's bloodline trait, and she made her father proud, even receiving a tender hug from him.

End of Chapter 3.


	4. Chapter 4: Sharingan and Byakugan

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter 4: Sharingan and Byakugan.

A year had passed, and both Naruto and Hinata had started training with their respective parents. Minato and Kushina started teaching Naruto some ninja skills in Taijutsu and weapon usage, and also how to handle his own chakra, and Hinata was getting the basics of the Gentle Fist Style, the unique Taijutsu style of the Hyuuga Clan.

The Third Hokage was checking out on those two kids, as he was also checking on the children of Fugaku Uchiha: Itachi, who was now eleven years old, and Sasuke, his younger brother, who was five.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also saw how Itachi and Obito Uchiha used to train together, and realized that this preference he had of training with the Clan's exiled ninja than with his own father could get him into many troubles. But also it was making him a lot of good, as he was the youngest Chuunin the Hidden Leaf ever had, and he would soon be ready to become Jounin, thanks to Obito's personalized training. Also, Itachi trained with his partner, Kakashi Hatake the son of the infamous White Fang, and he could balance Obito's good will and ideas with Kakashi's focus ability, the one that a Ninja must have when in missions.

In the Uzumaki house, Minato was visited by Kakashi Hatake, Rin Inuzuka, who brought her own dog: a black-furred, large dog named Kurai, and also he received the visit of Obito Uchiha and his girlfriend, Himitsu Hyuuga. Naruto knew them all, and he also was fond of them. The four of them helped him with his first training, and also they played with him.

Minato started talking with Kakashi and Rin while Kushina took Obito and Himitsu with Naruto, who still couldn't manage to handle his own chakra, apparently due to the Nine-Tailed Fox. They saw Naruto's fierce attempts to draw chakra, but he just seemed unable for some reason. Kushina asked:

- Damn, this kid has got five months training the basic things about chakra handling, while also learning how to fight and throw weapons, but he doesn't seem to draw chakra of his own yet.

Obito saw Naruto and asked:

- You couldn't sense how his chakra is doing, Kushina? We might assist you with that.

Himitsu activated her Byakugan, as Obito activated his Sharingan. Both saw the small amount of chakra Naruto had on his own, while the chakra of the Fox was overwhelming his chakra circulatory system. Obito perceived how the powerful chakra was superposing over Naruto's, and Himitsu could see something worse. She said:

- Naruto's chakra circulatory system was blocked on the inside, and the other chakra is fighting hard to just try and circulate through his body. Of course, it cannot do so.

The group of Minato's Genin squadron, now all Jounin, knew very well that the Kyuubi couldn't be mentioned to Naruto until he was old enough to understand. Obito completed the idea with his own perceptions:

- I sense that, due to that situation, the other chakra is accumulating itself in Naruto's heart, as if it was avoiding Naruto from having his own chakra circulating through his body. I can't see it properly, but I can deduce this from what Himitsu said, and from how I can barely see Naruto's chakra, covered by the other one.

Kushina was worried. An accumulation of chakra in any part of the body, without allowing it to be released in a short while, could cause severe damage to that body part; even it could kill the person. Naruto asked, innocently, and a bit sad, even when he didn't understand the conversation at all:

- So, I cannot handle chakra, mommy?

Kushina was upset. She asked:

- Could you see how was his chakra blocked? If it was a Hyuuga, then Hiashi will have to give us a lot of explanations.

Himitsu saw deeper inside Naruto and saw that it was like some sort of chakra dam, and she had only seen such thing in one place:

- The ANBU…

Hmitsu turned to Kushina:

- Kushina, did any ANBU try to do anything to your kid?

Kushina remembered that Minato took him once to the Hokage's office, and she ran to ask him:

- Minato!! Did any ANBU member even get close to Naruto?!

Minato replied, realizing the severity of the affirmation:

- No. Whenever he got out with me, he was right by my side, and he was always in my sight. Why is that?

Himitsu replied:

- Someone put a Chakra Dam Seal like the one ANBU does to their prisoners in Naruto. That's why he cannot handle either his chakra or the other one.

Minato was shocked. _That's why Naruto cannot use chakra at all. Those bastards… It's good that the Kyuubi's regenerative powers allow the kid to not die, but this first rush of chakra, accumulated after who knows how long ago, can be quite painful for our kid._ He carried Naruto and said:

- Obito, Himitsu, come with me! Kakashi, Rin, take care of Kushina while I'm not here! I don't like this attitude of ANBU!

The couple agreed, and Kushina stayed at home with the medic ninja, her dog, and Kakashi. She offered them tea, still worried about her own son, but both Rin and Kakashi could calm her down for a while.

Minato arrived to the Hokage's office and saw the old Third dealing with the usual paperwork. Obito and Himitsu were worried, but not as much as Minato, who was also upset. The old Sarutobi elder saw them and realized that something was wrong. He asked:

- Any problem with Naruto, lord Minato?

Minato just replied:

- Naruto received an ANBU seal, and he's not drawing chakra. I can take care of that, but ANBU is getting too close to our family, Lord Hokage!

Hiruzen was about to say something when the door just opened. A man full of bandages, who covered his right arm with a brown blanket, and who walked with a cane, saw the dreaded kid and said:

- We cannot allow this kid from drawing the powers of that filthy demon. Not inside the village, Minato.

Minato saw the figure and said:

- So it was you, Danzou…

- Yes, it was me… I'm concerned about the village, and I'm capable of releasing Naruto, _if_ you hand it to me.

Both Obito and Himitsu were starting to get mad. It was not the first time Danzou had managed to steal children from their families, and train them since they're young to form up his own ANBU task force. What Danzou didn't expect was Minato's reply:

- You're talking to the Seal Master of the Hidden Leaf, old hag. Who gave you, or your people, any permission to avoid Naruto from using his chakra?

Danzou drew a scroll, signed by the Fire Country's Feudal Lord, and said:

- I've got the permission directly from the Feudal Lord. You can do nothing against it, Minato, and any attempt to remove the seals from the kid **without my permission** will give me enough power to take care of you, and to take Naruto to my ranks. Read the scroll if you want.

Minato was about to take the scroll when Himitsu said, her Byakugan activated:

- Lord Minato! It's a sealing technique! If you touch that scroll, you'll be sealed in it!

Minato took his hand away in time to avoid the scroll, and he threw a couple of labeled kunai to the sides. Danzou tossed the scroll with strength, but Minato and his companions could evade it, Minato using his legendary transportation technique: the Jiraishin. The Third Hokage tossed a kunai with an explosive tag in it, destroying the scroll. Obito activated his Sharingan and said:

- You better get the hell out of here, old bastard, or we'll make sure to take you down!

Danzou saw the kid and laughed:

- I've faced lots of Uchiha bastards before, and they're no match for me, kid! Hand me the Kyuubi, or I won't make sure of his safety from now on!

Minato saw how Danzou armed seals and started sending chakra inside Naruto's body aggressively, and then, after a couple of seconds, he said:

- That will be enough to kill the child if you do this the wrong way, Minato… if he deserves to handle that powerful chakra, then you'll have to do the impossible. Goodbye.

Danzou was replaced by a smoke cloud. _So it was a Shadow Clone… bastard…_ Obito was furious, but no more than Minato. The Third Hokage asked:

- What just happened, Minato? What did he mean with **doing the impossible**?

Himitsu activated her Byakugan and checked on Naruto. She got shocked, and furious:

- The seal was strengthened even more! The amount of chakra needed is bigger now!

Minato frowned and answered:

- To break this seal, I need the assistance of an Uchiha_ and_ a Hyuuga, lord Hokage. But, as it seems to be, I guess that Obito and Himitsu will run out of chakra before the seal is even fractured. I should end up needing the assistance of both Hiashi Hyuuga and Fugaku Uchiha, due to their high skills, chakra amount and control.

The Third Hokage stood still, checking on the situation calmly. He said then:

- We must convince both the Hyuuga and Uchiha Clan heads to assist us. I'll go with you.

Minato saw the old man stand up, revealing his white and red robes, and he opened the office's door. The quartet ran out of the Hokage's building, with Minato carrying Naruto. They went first to the Hyuuga compound, and the guards let them in with no further questions.

In the Hyuuga manor, Hiashi was having tea with his pregnant wife Higan and his daughter Hinata, when they received the group that just arrived on the run. Hinata saw how Minato carried his son, as if he was ill or something, and stuttered:

- N-Naruto-kun!! W-what happened t-to Na-Naruto-kun?!

Hiashi made a sign to Higan, and she took Hinata away. The young girl heard her mother soothe her:

- Don't worry, Hinata-chan, your friend will be all right soon. Come on.

Hinata couldn't be calm about Naruto; it was the first time she ever saw him that bad. It was the first time that she saw him in his father's arms, carried like a baby. Even so, she left to another room with her mother. Hiashi, after the group left, asked:

- What happened, Minato? What's wrong with Naruto?

The Third Hokage was the one who spoke:

- ANBU agents sealed him with the Chakra Dam Seal, perhaps while he was asleep, and Danzou showed up, strengthening the seal. We were counting on Obito and Himitsu to do this, but they can do nothing against this strengthened seal. We shall need your assistance… and the assistance of a powerful Uchiha too, if we don't want the Kyuubi to get out here again.

Hiashi felt like killing someone, but not from the group inside his manor. He said:

- That bastard ANBU Black-Ops chief is just too insidious. Even our Byakugan cannot find his hideout, and what are his demands?

Minato was angry:

- He demanded us to give him Naruto, so he could turn him into a Black-Ops agent!

Hiashi didn't like the idea of having to work with an Uchiha: both Clans' pride was just too huge, so as their rivalry, so it would be quite difficult for them to _work together_ in anything; but Danzou unnerved him a lot more than the Uchiha Clan, as he was a lot more dangerous. He said, noticing Minato's concern:

- This is a life or death situation, after all, and Naruto cannot be handed to Danzou. Let's go to the Uchiha compound!

Minato nodded, a bit relieved, and the Hokage led the way, having Obito and Himitsu behind them.

A few minutes later, the group had reached the Uchiha compound. The guards allowed them to get in, also with not many questions, and they reached the Uchiha manor. Mikoto Uchiha received them, a bit surprised to see the Hyuuga Clan Head, the Third and the Fourth Hokages, the one who was banished from the Clan and his lavender-eyed girl, all together. She asked:

- What can I do for you, lord Hokage?

The Third spoke:

- We need to speak with lord Fugaku immediately. It's a SS-class situation.

Mikoto saw that Minato was carrying his son, the jailor of the Nine-Tails, and ran back inside the house. Fugaku came out after a while, and the first thing he noticed was the concerned glare of Hiashi Hyuuga. _Hmm, apparently, he's not wearing his Hyuuga mask for this situation; it must be a huge thing._ He asked:

- What's going on, lord Hokage? What can be a SS-class business right now?

The Sarutobi elder spoke:

- Naruto was sealed with the Chakra Dam in secret, perhaps while he slept, and Danzou had just showed up to reinforce the seal. Only with your assistance, and Hiashi's, we can have a chance to prevent the kid from dying and releasing the Kyuubi again.

Fugaku was concerned. First of all, there was the fact of both Hiashi and _him_ working together to save the jailor of the Kyuubi. His rivalry with Hiashi and his Clan was known by the whole village, and it was fed each day, as the own villagers used to compare their strength. He even doubted that both Clans could work together at all.

But Danzou was just despicable. It was known that he had already made himself with a Sharingan… or more, by kidnapping and killing Uchiha ninjas; and he had become a personal enemy of the Clan. He saw Hiashi, then he saw Minato, and then he saw the Third Hokage. He just said:

- This is bad… did he say something at all?

The Third spoke:

- He wanted us to hand him Naruto.

That was enough for Fugaku to put everything aside and start working. _If Danzou gets his hands on the Kyuubi, having a Sharingan already, he'll be able to wreak havoc on us all with the demon's power._ He said:

- Let's make this quick! Follow me!

Fugaku led the group to the Uchiha Temple grounds, and laid Naruto on the ground. Minato ordered Obito and Himitsu to guard the temple, and they did so. It's probable that Danzou's ninjas would decide to come after Naruto tonight, and that could not be allowed.

Once inside the temple, Minato and Hiruzen started arming hand seals, while both Fugaku and Hiashi, motivated thanks to their shared hatred towards Danzou, focused their chakra, activating their respective bloodline traits. Fugaku was shocked when he saw the chakra of the child, and said:

- This kid is really in a bad shape! The chakra implanted in his body is just too aggressive!

Hiashi was also upset, seeing Naruto's chakra circulatory system:

- It's repressing the chakra in his heart, and drawing chakra from the Fox in his stomach to overload his heart and kill him!

Minato started pouring his chakra inside the dam, while the Third attempted to stop the chakra flux. The blond ninja said:

- Lord Hiashi, you'll attack the dam seals with your Gentle Fist when I tell you! Lord Fugaku, you'll control the Kyuubi with your Sharingan, using both your chakra and the Third's to control the chakra flow through Naruto-kun's body!

The Hyuuga and the Uchiha Clan Heads saw each other, nodding, and then them, so as the Third Hokage, waited for Minato's signal. After a few seconds and lots of sweat drops, Minato nodded to the group.

Outside, Obito and Himitsu were having a rough deal. Four masked ANBU ninjas were trying to enter the Uchiha temple, and they had to activate their respective bloodline traits to defend the kid and his saviors. The fight was tough, and the ANBU ninjas were just strong.

Himitsu was able to bring one of the ANBU down, by suppressing his chakra circulatory system, and now he couldn't use his chakra-sucking bugs anymore, as the swarm that lived inside him left to the forest. Obito was defeating another of the ANBU by copying his moves and use his own Taijutsu against him. After a while, the ANBU fell to the ground, and Obito tied him well with metallic strings.

Then, they went for the other two, but they started fighting against a couple of Uchiha ninjas who saw the mess and joined the fight. One of them, a brown-haired guy known as Gorobei Uchiha, asked, while fighting:

- What the hell is going on? Why are ANBU entering our grounds? And what are _you two_ doing here?

Obito replied, joining the fight:

- Minato Namikaze brought his son Naruto here, so both Lord Hiashi Hyuuga and Lord Fugaku Uchiha could attend him, assisted by the Hokage!

That made the other Uchiha, a blonde woman called Chiaki Uchiha, ask:

- And why would our Clan join the Hyuuga bastards to help the Kyuubi kid?

Himitsu replied bluntly, for being a Hyuuga:

- That's classified as SS-rank information! We're not cleared to tell you, it's the Hokage's command!

Those words "SS-rank" were magical, as the two Uchiha reinforcements started fighting without saying a word. Soon enough, the two last ANBU ninjas fell and got captured. Chiaki commanded Gorobei:

- Go and find some police agents! These ones are to be taken to Interrogation and Torture immediately!

Gorobei ran into the house, as Chiaki watched the surroundings, in search for another hidden ninja who would attempt to release his partners, or just to kill them, but there was nothing. After a few minutes, Gorobei was followed by a group of eight ninjas, and they all took the captured ANBU, taking them directly to the center of the village.

Inside the Uchiha Temple, meanwhile, Naruto was sweating cold, his skin tuned pale, and his heart started beating faster and faster with each second. Hiashi started attacking Naruto with Gentle Fist strikes, as he could see the chakra points that were blocked around his heart. He could finally break them away, after several attacks, and a considerable amount of chakra; and Minato used his chakra to delete the special mark those seals left.

Minato, as the sealing master he was, knew that the Chakra Dam worked as a self-regenerating seal that left a mark when retired incompletely. That mark would react with the victim's chakra, regenerating itself at a slow rate, until the blockade was complete. To undo the seal, it was necessary to erase the hidden marks, and Minato just wasn't a seal master for nothing.

While Minato was done with that, Fugaku and the old Sarutobi were struggling against the incoming chakra of the Nine-Tails and the rather large amount of chakra accumulated in the child's heart. At Minato's word, Fugaku and the Third started releasing the chakra from Naruto's heart to the rest of the body, acting as a filter to avoid the kid from damaging his chakra circulatory system at such a young age.

Hiashi was surprised to see that both he and Fugaku were actually working together, and also saving a life that would keep them safe later, like some sort of a long-term investment. Also, he was glad that Naruto was recovering his color, so as his body heat, and also he was seeing how both his chakra and Kyuubi's started circulating through his small body, giving the child his energy back. After a few seconds of that large effort, both Fugaku and the Third Hokage could take a deep breath. Naruto was fine, and the Kyuubi wasn't restless anymore. Naruto woke up and said, seeing his father and the Hokage:

- Nnngh, dad… old man… where am I?

Minato saw his kid and hugged him. Hiashi smiled while seeing the scene and Fugaku relieved himself completely. What was strange for him was to hear these words from Hiashi Hyuuga:

- I guess we did a good job here, Lord Fugaku Uchiha.

The Hyuuga Clan Head was offering a hand to him, and he didn't seem to want to refuse it at all. He shook his hand firmly, still catching his breath, and said:

- Yes, we did, Lord Hiashi Hyuuga.

They both knew that this handshake was something that would change both Clans completely, and also the Third Hokage could sense it. Minato couldn't do anything else than bow before the two Clan heads, kneeling on the floor as he bowed, and saying as he cried tears of relief:

- I'm just so thankful for all the assistance you've given to us! I owe you a lot, and I don't think I can ever repay any of you for saving my son!

Hiashi said then:

- Now I guess we're even, Lord Minato Namikaze.

Fugaku replied:

- You and your students saved my sons last year, and now we save your son. I guess that's why we decided to join efforts in a Hidden Village, after all.

The Third Hokage said, after seeing the agreement between the two Clan Heads and the Fourth Hokage:

- Today's actions have changed the way I see the Uchiha Clan. Your older compound inside the village is still empty, so you can move inside there again, and you can return to your normal activities. The banning law against the Uchiha Clan will be withdrawn if the Uchiha Clan is willing to join the village in a more cooperative role. What do you say?

Fugaku couldn't believe his own ears. He was seeing how the Uchiha Clan was about to be forgiven for their past sins, thanks to his efforts to save the Kyuubi kid. _I can't believe that this kid that even we despised was able to bring us our glory back. This child is meant to do great things for all of us, even when he's a mixed-blood Senju._ Fugaku bowed to the Hokage and said:

- We're willing to serve the Hidden Leaf Village with all of our strength, Lord Hokage.

The Third smiled, turning his pipe on and having a small smoke. He said, while Minato stood up, hugging his son again:

- Well, Fugaku Uchiha, you can stand straight. Your Clan has suffered a lot since the banning that was called upon you from the Elders' Council, and mostly to grant Danzou with your bloodline trait. I shall grant your Clan the rights it had before the banning, and I shall grant you a position that comes a lot more according to your Clan's abilities than the Hidden Leaf's Police.

Fugaku Uchiha was letting tears fall from his eyes: the banning against his Clan was gone, and all thanks to the good action from a while ago. _Perhaps if we can become more trustful and compromised with this village, they'll protect us more. Our children will have to grow up with no more hatred, and we could become stronger for the right reasons._ The Third said:

- The Uchiha Clan will start managing the Village's defenses more actively, from both inner and outer threats, so we can use the Sharingan's physical abilities and the Clan's great Fire Style techniques for something good. Also, I want you to show your mental prowess with the Sharingan in the Interrogation and Torture department. What do you say, Lord Fugaku?

Fugaku bowed, happier than ever, and said:

- We shall fulfill our duties and show the Hidden Leaf Village our commitment to protect it from anything, even from ourselves!

Hiashi was pleased to see the sudden change in the Uchiha Clan's head, and decided to break his mask for once:

- You can count on the Clans to support your duties. The times that come will bring lots of hardships to us, Lord Fugaku, so… - Hiashi offered Fugaku his hand again: - it's better if we work together from now on, as a Hidden Village, and not as a bunch of power-lusty Clans.

Fugaku realized the truth in Hiashi's words, even when the air of diplomatic serenity was still surrounding his face, and shook his hand:

- You can count on the Uchiha, Lord Hiashi. The Hidden Leaf will count on us, as we are actually counting on them. It's a vow of honor.

Minato joined his hands with the two adult ninjas, and a new age for the Hidden Leaf was about to start. The Third could see it blooming, and he said, happy to not have Homura and Koharu to manipulate him anymore:

- Well, let's be a Hidden Ninja Village then.

Fugaku, Hiashi and Minato bowed towards the Hokage, and then they all followed the old Sarutobi to his office. The release papers for the Uchiha's banning were signed now, and a new light came for the red-eyed Clan. Things would be different from now on, and all thanks to Naruto.

End of Chapter 4.

A/N: I know I'm not exactly following the original story, but I guess that's the idea behind this. Anyways, enjoy the story, and please review! =)


	5. Chapter 5: Recoils of the Dam

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto at all.**

Chapter 5: Recoils of the Dam.

A week had passed since Danzou's attack on Naruto, and his parents, Minato and Kushina, were a lot concerned about him. Naruto was feeding terribly each day, as he "didn't feel hungry". His body was reacting against every single kind of food, and he felt like not eating.

Hinata herself was worried. When Naruto came to see her at the Hyuuga manor, he was very skinny. She told her father, and he called for Minato and Kushina, while Hinata took care of Naruto. Hiashi, worried, said:

- What's wrong with your kid?

Kushina was concerned:

- His body is reacting against every single kind of food. It's just weird.

Minato said, also worried:

- It's something strange. He loves to eat, but now he rejects it. He won't want to eat, and if we try to make him eat, he starts having diarrhea and megrim. It's just weird.

Hiashi started getting concerned too, and activated his Byakugan, seeing Naruto in detail. Hinata, meanwhile, spoke to him:

- N-Naruto-kun… w-why aren't you eating?

Naruto, seeing Hinata's sad face, just said:

- I feel sick with food, Hinata-chan, I don't know…

Hinata offered him a cinnamon bun her mother had bought her and said, blushed:

- T-t-try t-this, Na-Naruto-kun, you m-might like it…

Minato and Kushina tried to stop Hinata from giving the cinnamon bun to Naruto, but Hiashi asked them to let her do it. He needed to see what was wrong with the kid.

Naruto was feeling bad, up to the point of crying: the cinnamon scent was just delicious, and it reminded him of Hinata, bringing him nice feelings to his heart; but he knew that, if he ate that, he'd start dealing with pain and dehydration. Hiashi noticed how his body worked, and said:

- This is a terrible thing. Danzou twisted Naruto's digestive system when he threw his chakra on him with such aggressiveness. The problem is that I don't know yet how it was affected. Hinata, please, give Naruto the bun.

Hinata handed Naruto the cinnamon bun, and Naruto, seeing her blushing face and her tender smile, couldn't resist to her sweet and reassuring voice:

- Please, Naruto-kun, eat it…

Naruto made a great will effort to just take that bun to his mouth. He bit it, and then the flavor of the cinnamon activated his saliva glandules, causing him pain in his mouth; then, while chewing the bun, he started feeling pain in his head bones; and when he finally swallowed it, he started feeling the terrible megrim, and then his stomach started growling badly. Naruto ran to the closest bathroom, and Hinata was worried to see him still in so much pain. Hiashi said:

- This is not a chakra-based attack, he actually altered Naruto's digestive system and his brain's reactions towards food, and the simple act of eating, and we shall need medical support.

Hiashi, seeing how worried Hinata was, said:

- Hinata-chan, do you want to come with us? Naruto-kun could use your company.

Hinata's eyes shined, as she blushed, and after a bow of acceptance, she ran to her room to dress herself. Kushina smiled to see the girl's eagerness when it came about Naruto's wellbeing, and Minato was glad of that. He asked:

- Shall we take Naruto-kun to the hospital, lord Hiashi?

The Hyuuga head replied:

- No. We'll pay a visit to the trio. They shall attend Naruto better than in the hospital. I just hope they're not drunk at this time of the day.

Kushina laughed nervously, and Minato frowned. There's only one trio who could be drunk when the sun was in its zenith in the whole Hidden Leaf, and he didn't exactly approve of them because of that. But they were the only ones capable of helping Naruto recover again. Hiashi waited until Hinata got out of her room, dressed with a cute lavender dress and a small indigo jacket, and told Minato to get Naruto. The Fourth Hokage carried his son, once again, and followed Hiashi.

Hinata didn't like to see Naruto like that, so she decided to talk to him:

- Um, Na-Naruto-kun…

Naruto turned to see her while in his father's arms. He was starving, but his body would reject food, and he was worried. But hearing Hinata would relieve him:

- I-I'm so… sorry, Naruto-kun; I-I d-didn't want you to… to go through all that a-again…

Naruto replied with a smile:

- Well, Hinata-chan, you actually helped me and your father with knowing what's wrong with me… thank you…

Hinata blushed furiously, smiling and twitching her fingers; and Hiashi reached the BBQ restaurant close to the Akimichi Clan's compound. Hiashi entered, seeing that there were three persons in the bar: a red-haired and fat man dressed in purple and wearing a steel-plated armor with the word "meal" (read like "shoku": 食) written in red in his stomach's plate; a blond man with his hair tied in a huge ponytail, dressed in dark red and wearing the Chuunin vest; and a spiky-haired man with beard and a bored look in his face. They all seemed to have a good time there, talking about whatever crossed their minds, eating and drinking sake.

Hiashi, a bit upset with the behavior of those three men, who preferred to have a chat together and drink in the middle of a boring day than spending time with their children, could calm himself down, as he realized they weren't drunk yet. He spoke, with commanding voice:

- Shikaku Nara, Chouza Akimichi and Inoichi Yamanaka. Is the Ino-Shika-Chou trio losing its Will of Fire already?

The trio turned their faces on Hiashi Hyuuga, and saw Minato and Kushina carrying their young son, Naruto. Chouza teased a bit, not realizing the situation:

- Hey! Your kid is damn skinny!! You're not feeding him?!

Shikaku replied:

- Hey, hey, Chouza, don't start already. What's going on, lord Hyuuga, lord Namikaze?

Minato replied:

- As you've probably heard, ANBU sealed our son with the Chakra Dam, and Danzou showed up to strengthen the effects of the seal. With Lord Hiashi's and lord Fugaku's assistance, we could release him off the seal. But now he's having huge trouble.

Shikaku claimed:

- Oh, how boring. Let's pay the bill and let's move. We'll take him to my place.

After the bill was paid by the trio, they walked to the Nara compound. It was surrounded by trees and deer, _lots_ of deer. Hinata was a bit scared when she saw the deer getting close to her and smelling her, but Shikaku said, smiling:

- Don't worry, girl. These deer won't bite.

Hinata blushed, covering herself nervously with her arms in front of her chest. Naruto, seeing her so worried, spoke weakly:

- Hinata-chan… I-I promise that, when I get out of this, I'll take you to play with the deer…

Shikaku laughed:

- Ha! It's the first time a kid already tries to do that! Not even my own boy wants to at all, heh, heh! If you promise not to hurt them, I shall let you play with them!

Naruto laughed weakly too, and started coughing. Minato saw his color fade slowly, and Kushina checked her temperature with her hand on his forehead. She said:

- Naruto's temperature is rising! He's dehydrated again!

Shikaku cursed and started running towards the Nara manor. When he arrived, Yoshino Nara was waiting for them. She screamed to Shikaku, as she saw him enter the house with Inoichi and Chouza:

- WHY DIDN'T YOU EVEN TELL ME THAT YOU WERE COMING WITH YOUR GANG HERE, HUH??!! YOU WERE DRINKING AGAIN, RIGHT?!?!

Shikaku just said:

- Bring some serum. Minato's kid is sick, and needs assistance.

Yoshino was upset, as Shikaku didn't even pay her any attention, but when she saw Hiashi Hyuuga and Minato Namikaze, along with his wife and child, she changed her expression, blushing, both ashamed **and** concerned:

- Oh, sorry! Didn't know you were coming too! Please, come in!

Hiashi sighed, while Kushina and Minato, so as little Hinata, didn't do anything than stay alert about Naruto. Hinata activated her bloodline trait, being able to do it a bit faster than normal; and she saw how Naruto's body was dehydrating, and how his chakra was slowly fading away. She said, scared, and stuttering:

- N-Naruto-kun's chakra… i-it's fading a-away!!

Hinata saw how both Minato and Kushina started worring a lot more, while Yoshino looked for serum, and arrived with a needle and a serum pack. The Nara family was known for their research in medicines, poisons, antidotes and medical treatments, and Yoshino was known for being an excellent medic ninja before she had her son. She injected the serum pack's needle in Naruto's arm and yelled:

- SHIKAKU!! HURRY UP, GODDAMN IT!! THIS KID IS DYING OVER HERE!!

- I'm coming! I'm coming!

Shikaku, Inoichi and Chouza ran to the main hall, seeing how bad Naruto was. They were carrying several medical supplies, water and food pills. Inoichi asked:

- I demand you to explain me what the hell is just going on around here! What happened?

Hiashi spoke:

- After this last week, as Naruto recovered himself from the strengthened Chakra Dam seal Danzou put on him, it seems that Danzou's attack twisted Naruto's digestive system, even affecting his brain reactions towards any kind of food. He will feel pain in his neck and mouth while salivating, pain in his jaw while chewing, pain in his neck again while swallowing and pain in his abdomen while digesting, suffering also megrim and diarrhea attacks when the food reaches his guts. He's dehydrating, and he's not exactly going to eat at all.

Chouza saw the food pills and took them, drawing them into his pouch. He said:

- I guess we must attack his mind first, before attacking his body. Inoichi…

The Yamanaka Clan head nodded, and armed some hand seals. His eyes turned silver-colored, surprising the worried Hinata, and started scanning Naruto's brain. He was scared with the things he saw, and asked:

- Is Naruto having problems to talk, to walk, or to see?

Naruto said, feeling pain:

- I-I see blurry, and I cannot run like before. If I do so, my head hurts.

Kushina asked:

- Why is that relevant at all, lord Inoichi?

Inoichi replied:

- Whoever got inside this kid's head messed up badly with his brain, rewiring some of his nerve connections. This will take me some time. Shikaku, prepare a sedative.

Shikaku opened his medical supplies and took a small tube. He opened it, and opened a syringe, filling it with a very small amount of the sedative. Shikaku said:

- Naruto-kun, this might hurt a bit.

Naruto turned to se Shikaku and saw the huge needle, and frowned, scared, but still tired:

- He's going to…

Hinata ran towards the blonde kid and took his hand, feeling him too hot. Shikaku injected the sedative on the kid, and he fell asleep in an instant. He said then:

- Wait here. We shall take him to the basement to operate him. Yoshino, you come with us. Chouza, please, take care of the guests while we handle the first part.

Shikaku and Yoshino carried the kid, followed by Inoichi, who carried the medical supplies. Chouza saw the little Hyuuga girl crying, nervous, and carried her, giving her to his father, who started trying to comfort her. Minato and Kushina were also too nervous, but Chouza tried to ease them too.

In the basement, Naruto was already undressed and placed in a litter, with his serum pack beside him. Inoichi was worried. He had never seen a brain-nerve rewiring as aggressive and well made outside of his own family, and when he was told that Danzou, the leader of ANBU Root, was the one who caused this, he frowned, deep in thought. He scanned Naruto's brain, trying to see how to undo that mess.

Yoshino saw that the serum pack was almost empty and took another one, ready for the replacement, while Shikaku asked, checking his notes:

- Need assistance, Inoichi?

- Sure I do, Shikaku, Yoshino. The problem is that the only one who could help me undo this faster is outside of town in a mission. Damn.

Yoshino asked:

- How long will it take you?

Inoichi, sweating, replied:

- I still don't know, but perhaps a couple of hours. This job was very well done, and it was done in such a short time, according to lord Minato.

Shikaku said, as Inoichi started working:

- And we cannot treat him like any teenager or adult patient, aiding Inoichi with some drugs; being such a child it could affect his growth and his capacities.

Inoichi started feeling a headache and said:

- Damn it! The Fox is not allowing me to manipulate the kid's brain! We must suppress the Fox's chakra! Call for Hiashi!

Yoshino ran to the main hall and reached for the group:

- The Fox's chakra won't allow lord Inoichi to rewire Naruto's brain! We need to suppress it, lord Hiashi!

Minato replied:

- I'll handle that! I don't know what could happen if the Seal is hit directly by a Gentle Fist strike!

Hiashi was concerned, as Hinata was hearing about the Fox, and about the Fox inside Naruto, but Hinata seemed not to pay any attention. Just hearing that Naruto wasn't doing well filled her mind and her heart with sadness. She didn't want to lose her best friend, again, and she started crying.

Minato went downstairs behind Yoshino, reaching the operating room. Inoichi was sweating, gasping for breath as he seemed to have faced Kyuubi just a while ago. Shikaku said:

- What is he doing here? Weren't you going to call lord Hiashi, Yoshino?

Minato said:

- I'd rather deal with the Kyuubi than lord Hiashi.

Minato laid a hand on Naruto's stomach, and his conscience traveled to the dark sewers again.

Minato started walking in the dark sewers, searching for his way towards the jail of Kyuubi. When he found it, he saw that Kyuubi himself was in a lot of pain, and he was rolling on the floor, hitting himself with his tails as if he couldn't control himself. He said:

- Kyuubi, what's going on?

The fox growled at him aggressively, and growled at him, staring at him with anger:

- That bastard reached the seal, and attacked me!! This hurts, goddamn it!!

Minato was shocked. _Danzou attacked Kyuubi also? But how damn powerful is that old son of a…?_ He asked:

- Kyuubi, what did he do to you?

- I cannot control my chakra at my own will! He marked me!

Minato saw Kyuubi's mark between its eyes, and saw that there was a circular seal, shaped like a Sharingan, but instead of being red, it was black, and it had nine red drop marks instead of the usual three black ones. He decided to do something:

- Kyuubi, I'm going in. I can take off that seal.

Kyuubi growled at him again, sending his chakra to attack him. Minato could hear Danzou's voice mixing up with Kyuubi's one as the fox spoke, clearly against its will:

- I will take this kid out, even if it's the last thing I'll do! The Kyuubi's power will be mine, and you all Clans will bow before me, asking me to spare your lives!!

Minato yelled, angry:

- I won't allow you to do that to my child, or to the Nine-Tailed Fox!

Danzou laughed soundly, with the Kyuubi's bone-chilling voice:

- No one in this damned village can stand a chance against my power!! I could invade the village and take it for me in any moment!!

In that moment, the Kyuubi's eyes changed, resembling the Sharingan, and Minato found himself struggling just to get out of that place.

Outside, Inoichi could hear Minato's voice claim softly:

- Lord Inoichi… I need assistance… come in…

End of Chapter 8.

A/N: A short, and also a bit of a "Dr. House" like episode, but I had fun writing it. Also, I was asked for a cliffhanger, so I'll leave this for you. Enjoy, and please review!


	6. Chapter 6: Fight for the Kyuubi

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto at all.**

Chapter 6: Fight for the Kyuubi.

Minato's words were slightly audible:

- Lord Inoichi… I need assistance… come in…

Inoichi Yamanaka saw Minato touching Naruto's stomack with his naked hand and took off his glove. He saw the Nara couple and said:

- I might be a little busy in there, Shikaku, Yoshino, but I'll try to use Naruto's body functions to call for assistance.

Shikaku knew what that meant: Inoichi will try to take command of Naruto's body while facing the Kyuubi, so if he needed anything, he'd speak through Naruto's voice. Inoichi touched Naruto's stomach, and he stood still.

Inoichi appeared in some sort of a dark sewer, and heard both Minato's voice and Kyuubi's. He ran to them and found the jail. Minato saw the Yamanaka Clan head and said:

- Good that you could hear me, lord Inoichi! This is serious!

Inoichi saw how Kyuubi's right eye had turned into a Sharingan, and said:

- An Uchiha behind this?

The Kyuubi spoke, using a rather familiar voice:

- Let's just say no, Inoichi… but you'll probably die before you can find out…

Inoichi caught the voice inside his head and identified it:

- Danzou…

The controlled Kyuubi laughed:

- You're faster than I thought! Then I shall kill you!

Danzou tried to cross the jail with his Sharingan, attempting to control any of the recently arrived ninjas, but the seal shocked him, and also he felt large wind chakra inside the seal, slashing the Kyuubi's body, causing him pain. He said, out of rage:

- I'm also a sealing master! And I'll break this seal!

Minato was shocked to see Kyuubi start to draw chakra at a high rate. Inoichi armed hand seals and asked:

- Lord Minato, cover me.

Inoichi passed out, and Minato carried his body. Meanwhile, Danzou, through Kyuubi's throat, laughed in insanity.

On the outside, Shikaku and Yoshino saw how Naruto's body started concentrating chakra, and his eyes turned slit and red. Shikaku said:

- Oh, no! This is bad! This is too bad!

Suddenly, Naruto's voice said:

- Lord Shikaku! Bring the rest down here! Now!

Shikaku ran to the entry hall, calling for the rest. Hiashi heard the call, and then they heard the door being knocked. Shikaku opened, and found Fugaku Uchiha on the other side. He asked:

- How's Naruto doing?

Shikaku knew that the Uchiha's abilities at gathering information were good, and as they moved back to their old location, beside the Hyuuga compound, he guessed that it should have been easy for him to find out. Shikaku saw him and said:

- It's not good at all, lord Fugaku, but I guess we could use your assistance. Follow us.

The group went downstairs to the Nara house's basement. There, Fugaku saw Inoichi and Minato touching Naruto's seal, and he also saw Naruto, quite weak and skinny, draw chakra from the Kyuubi. Fugaku activated his Sharingan and stared at Naruto, seeing the image on the other side:

- Danzou! You bastard will keep messing up with this kid?!

Naruto spoke, his voice resembling Inoichi's:

- Good to see you, lord Fugaku! Try to retain the Kyuubi's chakra! It's manipulated remotely by Danzou! Hiashi, I want you to see Naruto with your eyes, and inform us about anything that needs to be repaired. Kushina, we shall need your electric chakra abilities to shock Naruto's seal as I command.

Naruto turned to see the little Hinata and said:

- Hinata-chan, I need you to hold Naruto's hand and speak to him. If he has nothing to come back for, he'll probably be gone for good.

Hinata's eyes opened wide in shock, and tears started forming up in them. She held Naruto's hand, while he said:

- Minato and I are trying to keep Danzou entertained here. Lord Chouza, Lord Shikaku, I want you to retain Naruto and feed him the food pills!

Shikaku armed hand seals and his shadow extended slowly, joining Naruto's one on the bed. As he was paralyzed, Shikaku opened Naruto's mouth by opening his own. Neruto was slowly opening his mouth, when his voice changed completely, resembling a mixture between his, Danzou's and Kyuubi's voices in one:

- Ha!! Now the Nara Clan is messing up here too!! I should have ended your pathetic lives when I had the chance!

Shikaku remembered when they first arrived to the Hidden Leaf Village, when he was five years old, as they got the permission to establish themselves as a permanent Clan. Danzou wasn't exactly agreeing with their arrival, and sent several Root agents to slay his family. The battle was fierce, but they could manage to survive, and they even got the assistance of the other Clans to draw Danzou out of their newly-acquired lands. Shikaku said:

- If it was for you, only the Senju and the Uchiha deserved to stay here! And now I see why!

Shikaku kept his mouth wide open after the speech, making Naruto do so too, and Chouza drew some food pills. He gave one to Naruto, and Shikaku forced him to chew it and swallow it. That made Naruto recover his shape a bit, and then Naruto changed his voice again, resembling Inoichi's one now:

- Danzou's too hard to be contained only by blunt force! We shall need to counter Danzou's Sharingan, lord Fugaku!

Fugaku activated his Sharingan again, arming hand seals, and he said:

- I'm on it, lord Inoichi!

Hiashi, who had his Byakugan activated, could perceive the three chakras inside Naruto's body: the light blue chakra, representing Naruto's own, the red chakra, representing the Kyuubi's, and a weird, dark red chakra, forcing the red chakra to move, and countering the blue chakra's attempts to flow normally. He said:

- Danzou's chakra is opening way to Naruto's heart again, combating his chakra and forcing Kyuubi's to reach it! If I attack the kid's chakra points, I guess there'll be a chance for me to help in the kid's defense!

Fugaku, who was focused on Danzou, said:

- I can see Kyuubi… it has a Sharingan in his right eye only… it's like he's only able to control Kyuubi's left side of the brain.

Inside the sewers, Inoichi could hear both Fugaku's and Hiashi's news, and he said to Minato, still linked to Naruto's brain:

- I must rush into Kyuubi's brain, lord Minato. I shall need assistance from your wife now.

Minato asked:

- What do you need?

- I need her to shut Kyuubi with an electric discharge over the seal in Naruto's body, and see if that can be enough to force Danzou to hold his horses a bit. Then, I will go inside Kyuubi's mind and fight him directly. Perhaps lord Fugaku can assist me here.

Minato nodded; even when this could be dangerous, they needed to free Kyuubi to save Naruto from Danzou. He said:

- I'll stay on this side, trying to control Kyuubi. I'll need assistance of my own.

Inoichi nodded, and then he used his connection with Naruto's brain again to speak.

Outside, Naruto spoke, his voice mixed again with Inoichi's:

- More instructions here. Chouza, give Naruto some of your special serum; I need him to strengthen his body back to normal as soon as possible, so his chakra also gets stronger.

Chouza searched in his pouch, and he found a couple of the Akimichi's special amber-colored serum packs. He injected one to Naruto's arm, and Hinata was worried about him. Naruto reacted to the serum almost immediately, turning very steadily to his healthy shape. Naruto, with Inoichi's voice, said:

- Well. Shikaku, keep Naruto's body as secure as you can.

Shikaku Nara armed a couple of hand seals, ending with the Rat seal in his hands, and several shadow tentacles wrapped Naruto, keeping him in the litter, but not strangling him. Inoichi, satisfied, said:

- Well. We're going out. Lady Kushina, prepare to attack the seal with your electric senbon.

Kushina drew a handful of senbon, charging them with her chakra, and waited. Minato and Inoichi woke up, getting away from Naruto. They all saw how Naruto's right eye started turning into a Sharingan, shaking and trying to break free of Shikaku's grapple, and Minato said, shocked:

- Do it, honey! Now!!

Kushina cried a few tears, begging for Naruto's forgiveness in silence, and she threw the electrified senbon, hitting all the chakra points of the seal. Hiashi was amazed to see the red-head's accuracy, and the group saw how the kid's right eye turned slit again, and Hinata ran to take his hand, seeing him sweat and feeling him cold. She said, crying desperately:

- H-He's heating up!

Inoichi said, seeing Minato, Hiashi and Fugaku:

- You're coming with me. It's time to get Danzou out of Kyuubi's mind.

The trio agreed, and both the Uchiha and the Hyuuga activated their bloodline traits before touching the seal. As they did, they all traveled to the sewers, seeing the desperate Kyuubi, speaking with Danzou's voice:

- THAT HURT, DAMMIT!! I'M KILLING YOU NOW!!

Inoichi armed hand seals, seeing Kyuubi in the eyes, and he collapsed, caught by Minato before he fell down. Fugaku glared at Kyuubi's eyes with his Sharingan, and a new fight would start now.

Danzou showed up inside the mind of Kyuubi, and both Inoichi and Fugaku were facing him. The ANBU Root chief had a large Kyuubi behind him, all furious and burning in fire. Fugaku said:

- This is very wrong, Inoichi.

Inoichi said:

- I know what to do.

Danzou replied:

- And you think you can ignore me like that? Ha!

Danzou threw the burning Kyuubi towards them, but then it froze. Danzou jumped to attack Inoichi, but Fugaku intercepted him.

Kyuubi, adopting Inoichi's voice, commanded:

- Need you two to enter the seal and block Kyuubi's chakra immediately!

Minato left Inoichi's body on the floor carefully, as Hiashi did the same with Fugaku's, and they joined for work. Minato, taking advantage of the Kyuubi's mixed control, opened the seal, letting Hiashi enter, and retaining the Kyuubi's boundless energy by forcing the jail's gate closed.

Danzou's fight with Fugaku was quite one-sided: he was incredibly strong for the Uchiha Clan head to handle, and as he covered himself with the Kyuubi's chakra, he took off a weird armor from his right arm, revealing at least six Sharingan eyes implanted in his arm. Fugaku was horrified, imagining how many Uchiha ninjas were sacrificed for that bastard's ambition and lust for power. _The power took him to hurt people, just like Madara Uchiha did on his time..._

Hiahsi was amazed to see what he was seeing. Kyuubi's body was completely made of chakra, and every single part of his body had at least ten chakra points more than a human could have in any of his body parts. He saw the dark red chakra growing from Kyuubi's right eye, and he decided it was time to use his Gentle Fist.

Danzou started fighting Inoichi for the Kyuubi's control, using six Sharingan to counter Inoichi's mental abilities, and he also fought Fugaku, using the seventh Sharingan in his right eye to attack him. Both Inoichi and Fugaku were having a real bad time, as Inoichi lost control over Kyuubi's mind after a few seconds, and as Fugaku was being beaten by Danzou's ocular prowess. He decided that it was time to take control of Kyuubi once and for all, but then he felt how both his chakra and Kyuubi's were blocked aggressively, what gave both Fugaku and Inoichi a chance to attack all of Danzou's Sharingan eyes mercilessly.

In the sewers, Hiashi Hyuuga was attacking every chakra point close to Kyuubi's right eye, attacking tirelessly, blocking Danzou's chakra to avoid its expansion, and then he started attacking the dark-red-painted ones with lots of chakra. Minato, noticing the change in Kyuubi's chakra, started arming hand seals, and started giving Hiashi his chakra, so the attacks to the affected chakra points would be stronger every time.

Outside, Chouza saw that Naruto had absorbed the amber serum completely, and drew the other pocket, feeding Naruto with it by injecting it to his arm. Shikaku was having a hard time, but he took a food pill, and his chakra reserves were replenished and multiplied, so he could keep Naruto at stake. Hinata, completely drawn to tears and worried, whispered to Naruto's ear:

- Naruto-kun… d-don't leave me alone… y-you're m-my only friend… p-please…

This made Naruto's eyes turn blue for a while, and, as Hinata activated her Byakugan, she saw how Naruto's chakra summed up to the battle inside his body. She got happy, as it meant that Naruto was back in the game.

In a random office, on the top floor of a building hidden in a valley fully surrounded by mountains, Danzou started feeling how his Sharingan started crying blood, and he felt pain, as his chakra was attacked directly. He felt Hiashi's chakra, Fugaku's chakra, then Inoichi's chakra, then Minato's chakra, and then both Naruto's and Kyuubi's chakra, all attacking him directly. He felt how his right eye and his right arm started bleeding profusely. Danzou was screaming like mad, fully in pain, and decided to break the mind-bending technique developed by him with the Sharingan, in order to not losing his hardly-acquired stolen eyes. He fell over his desk, completely in pain, and he muttered:

- This Hidden Village will learn the lesson… I'm having that kid no matter what… and I'm the one they have to call as "Hokage", not that old hag...

Meanwhile, Hiashi saw Kyuubi's chakra return to normal, and reactivated its chakra points. As Hiashi, Fugaku and Inoichi returned to the other side of the cage's gate, Minato said, entering the cage himself and speaking to a tired Kyuubi:

- I'm sorry for all the mess, lord Kyuubi; I don't know what to say about this.

Kyuubi chuckled, a bit in pain:

- You could do something with this seal. I don't want another Sharingan in my head.

Minato saw Kyuubi's head and found the same seal between its eyes still active. He said, arming hand seals:

- Apparently, you've been marked, so anyone with a Sharingan could invade your mind and use you at its will. How about I remove that for you?

Kyuubi nodded, quietly, as it knew that it might hurt. Minato said:

- Don't open your eyes until I tell you.

Minato closed his fist, charging a lot of chakra in it, and slammed it against Kyuubi's head. Kyuubi endured the fist attack, and then both Minato and it started seeing how black chakra started leaving the cage, leaving also the seal and Naruto's body, then the Nara manor, and the Hidden Leaf Village. Minato, pleased to see Kyuubi relaxed after all, closed the cage's gate and reinforced the seal a bit, to make sure it didn't break in a rage or fear attack from Naruto. He said:

- Well, we must get back. My kid needs to get recovered still.

Kyuubi said:

- Tell him for me to thank that Hyuuga girl. Her words made him get strong enough to help me fight that Danzou out of my chakra.

Minato smiled:

- I will, lord Kyuubi.

Kyuubi saw how the four figures abandoned the sewers, disappearing quickly. It needed to rest, and so did the kid.

Outside, the whole ninja group saw how Naruto recovered, still weak, but at least his temperature recovered, and his color came back to his skin. Hinata was crying tears of joy, seeing Naruto coming back to normal once again. He whispered:

- W-where… where am I? W-where is Hinata-chan?

Hinata held his hand and whispered:

- I-I'm here, Naruto-kun…

Chouza said:

- Well, I guess the kid could use a meal now.

Inoichi interrupted:

- Not yet. I still have to rewire Naruto's brain, if we don't want him to vomit the food again. Else, he's still seeing blurry, as far as I can tell.

Naruto nodded to Inoichi, as he only could see a blurry yellow stain in front of him. Minato nodded, so as the rest of the group, and Chouza gave him a food pill. This work would be rough, and it usually took time. The rest of the group left to the main hall, ready to catch their breaths and willing to drink some hot tea to get relaxed.

An hour later, Inoichi came to the hall, with Naruto walking beside him. He said:

- Well, the kid's fine, but he could use some food.

Minato saw his child back to life, and Kushina was about to run towards him when Hinata stepped up before her. Naruto received her hug, and he returned the gesture, whispering:

- Thank you, Hinata-chan… you saved my life…

Hinata whispered back:

- I-I'd love to… to play with the deer… j-just you and me, N-Naruto-kun…

Naruto smiled at her and said:

- It's a deal… I'm starving…

Chouza said:

- So am I! Let's go for some BBQ!

Inoichi couldn't disagree, he needed a drink. Shikaku's face was also revealing his need for some sake. Even Yoshino agreed, talking to the maid in the house, so she could take care of her son. Minato and Kushina were happy to have their son back, as now he could start training in the usage of his own chakra again. Fugaku was tired, but he decided that he couldn't refuse. Hiashi accepted, as he decided that Naruto could use some company of his own age, and his daughter seemed to be the best of them all. The sun was about to set when the group walked to the BBQ restaurant.

End of Chapter 6.

A/N: For those who want Danzou to die, I'm afraid that I should disappoint you for a while. He's giving me lots of material for now to work, and I don't want to bring the big bombs into this story just yet. Please review!


	7. Chapter 7: The Unexpected Meeting

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto at all.**

Chapter 7: The Unexpected Meeting

Three years had passed since the last time Naruto Namikaze was in danger. Minato and Kushina had started working on Naruto's chakra usage and control since that day, and, still three years after that, they had some difficulties to help Naruto using his chakra properly, but he was succeeding with the physical practices and the weapon and Taijutsu training.

On the other side, all what Minato and Kushina wanted to teach Naruto about basic tactics and strategy, things that he'll be seeing within classes soon, as he'd finally get into the Ninja Academy in a month, they could find ways to make the kid understand them in non-book-like ways, as they realized that, even when Naruto could read and write perfectly, he was a kid who needed to have fun to learn. That's why they had decided to take some time and explain Naruto the things he'd be seeing in class that way.

Even when that was a tough challenge for them, both Minato and Kushina could adapt themselves to Naruto's learning method, and he understood perfectly when he was lectured in a way that he could make his own associations. Of course, they always prepared some associations of their own, in case Naruto couldn't find things out on his own.

Minato, Kushina, Naruto and both Higan and Hinata, who were visiting the blond kid, were reunited for a while. As the parents were talking, Naruto and Hinata were talking and sparring together in the Namikaze house's yard. Hinata was surprised to see that Naruto's fighting style was quite difficult to predict for her, and Naruto saw that Hinata's Gentle Fist strikes hit really hard if he didn't take his precautions. Higan, seeing the children, said:

- This is amazing, don't you think, lady Kushina?

Kushina saw the children sparring and said:

- Yes, indeed. It's incredible that they're actually getting ready to replace us, lady Higan.

Higan Hyuuga replied:

- What I mean is: Hinata would never spar like this when training with my husband, with lord Hizashi or with the young Neji. She's kind of motivated.

Minato said:

- And so is Naruto. He fights with more energy when sparring with different people, and, as he's still developing his own fighting style, it's a lot better if he spars with as most different styles as he can. Of course, I don't need to state that he loves to spar with Hinata-chan, as he's quite fond of her.

Higan, lowering her sight, asked:

- I try to convince lord Hiashi to allow Hinata into discovering her own way to adapt the Gentle Fist to her ways, but he's kind of stubborn with this. If he could only see little Hinata-chan fighting here with Naruto-kun, he'd be proud.

Kushina replied:

- Yes, I know, but the Clan lately has been loathing for any kind of "external assistance", trusting in the Gentle Fist's strengths, and relying on the Caged Bird Seal to try and "compensate" its weaknesses, when not turning blind eyes towards them.

Higan said, quite sad:

- My husband can't do much to change that, and he couldn't call the Hokage to reason with them, as he'd be labeled as weak, and all of us would have to receive the Caged Bird Seal too. And I want neither Hinata-chan nor Hanabi-chan to take that curse mark.

The kids would take a rest, and the adults heard their conversation for a while. Hinata, blushing a bit, and catching her breath, saw Naruto, and asked:

- N-Naruto-kun…

Naruto, also catching his own breath, said:

- That was a hell of a spar, Hinata-chan! You've improved quite a lot, I must say!

Hinata's blush turned deep red. _Naruto-kun thinks I'm strong!_ Higan smiled, as she knew her daughter would need that to keep herself motivated. Hinata said:

- Y-y-you really… t-think… so, Na-Naruto-kun?? – As Naruto nodded with his head, Hinata's heart started beating frantically: - T-thank you…

Naruto asked, suddenly turning his eyes away:

- Hinata-chan… I need help…

Hinata got close to Naruto, after the sudden break of joy, as she saw him get a bit depressed. Hinata asked kindly:

- What is it, Naruto-kun?

Minato realized what he was going to say, but the way he told her surprised him:

- You know that you told me that you saw two colored chakras inside me, right?

Hinata nodded. Naruto continued:

- I want to try and use my chakra, but somehow I cannot do it. Please, Hinata-chan, tell me what you see when I try to use it.

Minato was surprised. Not only his son knew that he had two chakra sources in his body, but also Hinata knew about it, even when none of them seemed to have any idea about this second chakra's origin. Hinata nodded, activating her bloodline trait. Naruto armed the Ram seal with his hands, and he started attempting to draw chakra out. Hinata's serious expression made the adults quite interested, but she only focused on what she saw in Naruto.

She saw how each one of his chakra points was attempting to release absurd amounts of both blue and red chakra at the same time, causing his chakra circulatory system to overload itself, and, as a result of it, the chakra wouldn't come out but in small leaks. She said:

- N-Naruto-kun, y-you're using too much chakra…y-your chakra points are overloaded…

Naruto started thinking in Hinata's words, but Kushina replied cleverly:

- You're trying to force hand-sized rocks through a fingertip-sized hole! Make the rocks smaller and they will pass through the hole!

Hinata understood the explanation, and saw that Naruto was thinking it clearly. He said, after a few seconds:

- My chakra is too dense and huge! I got it!

Hinata, still seeing Naruto, noticed how Naruto took a deep breath, and, with a great inner and physical effort, his chakra circulatory system started reducing the chakra amount slowly, and also, more and more chakra started surrounding him, like some sort of aura. Naruto asked:

- How about now, Hinata-chan?!

Hinata said, quite excited:

- I-It's amazing, Na-Naruto-kun! You're drawing out chakra! You're drawing out both blue _and_ red chakra at the same time!

Naruto was happier than ever, panting due to the effort:

- After three years I could do it! Thanks a lot, Hinata-chan!

Naruto was about to jump and take a few steps to hug Hinata, but then he stumbled, losing consciousness due to the effort, and fell to the ground, fainted. The group of parents, so as Hinata, started checking on the fainted Naruto. Kushina said, touching Naruto's veins in his wrist:

- He's got pulse.

Minato checked his nose with his index finger:

- And he's breathing.

Higan checked with her Byakugan, and what she saw surprised her:

- The Fox's chakra is quite active.

The group could only think of an option: Naruto was talking to the Fox. Minato asked to let Naruto quiet.

Meanwhile, Naruto showed up in some sort of a dark sewer. Wondering where he was, he walked for a bit, and then he saw a large cage with a label that had the word "seal" written on it. Naruto got close to it, and when he tried to touch the label, a dark voice spoke:

- I don't think you want to do that, Naruto.

Naruto was scared half to death. Then, to scare him a lot more, a huge, red fox with slit red eyes, pointy fangs and nine tails showed up in the other side of the cage. Naruto, stumbled, asked:

- W-w-what a-are you!? Where am I?!

Kyuubi was quite bored of the scene, but somehow he knew that this would happen. Seeing a giant demon is not exactly the easiest thing in this world, even less for an eight-year old kid. It sighed, took a breath, and tried not to make its voice too dark:

- Listen to me, Naruto Namikaze. You're inside your own body. I'm the Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox the stories talk about.

Naruto remembered when his parents told him about the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox that attacked the village eight years ago, and trembled with fear:

- Y-y-you k-killed a lot of p-p-people!! W-what are you doing inside me?!

Kyuubi took a deep breath, when, all of a sudden, a scream caught their attention.

Outside, Minato, Kushina and Higan were trying to keep the room as fresh as it could be, and also they tried to keep watch in the house. Of course, it meant that Hinata was the only one who was close enough to Naruto.

Still with her Byakugan activated, she saw how the red chakra seemed to be active in his stomach. She started getting close to him, and raised his shirt. For the moment Kushina arrived, after checking the windows in the rooms, she saw Hinata touching Naruto's seal in his stomach, and she yelled:

- Crap!! Hinata touched the seal!!

Higan and Minato ran directly towards Naruto, realizing that it was too late. Minato just said:

- Well, I just hope they can handle this with not many problems.

Inside the sewers, the scream of the lithe girl was getting closer and closer:

- Naruto-kun?! Where are you?!

Kyuubi sighed. _Damn, Naruto's little girlfriend found out a way in here… Damn it._ When Hinata reached the place, Kyuubi was surprised to see she was a Hyuuga. It said:

- Well, well, well, naruto, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend in the Hyuuga Clan.

Needless to say, Naruto blushed, screaming at Kyuubi, while Hinata's blood rose to her head furiously, gaining a deeper red tone in her face. Kyuubi, quite amused, decided to stop chuckling when Naruto replied, upset:

- Shut up, Kyuubi! You still have to answer me what the hell you're doing inside me!!

Hinata was startled to hear that. _I'm inside Naruto-kun?_ She activated her Byakugan and saw how the fox irradiated the red chakra she used to see in him. _So this is what gives Naruto-kun that red chakra…_ Kyuubi said:

- I was controlled long ago by some weird guy, and he used me to attack the Hidden Leaf Village eight years ago. Your father was the Hokage for those days, and, after getting some assistance, he could seal me inside your body. You could say that, right now, I live inside you.

Naruto saw the huge fox, and Hinata noticed that he was speaking rather calmly for being a millennia-old demon. She asked:

- So, what the stories say about your evil intent towards the village…

Kyuubi laughed soundly:

- I couldn't care less about this place, or about this pathetic human race! It was the evil intent of that bastard who used me that ended up getting me into this trouble, and I won't be able to get free until that bastard gets what he deserves!

Hinata, knowing that the huge fox was a demon, realized that its words were truthful. Naruto asked:

- Could I ask you something, scary fox?

Kyuubi, a bit irritated, saw Hinata, and she said, blushing:

- Heh, heh! N-Naruto-kun uses to p-put nicknames on e-everyone, Lord K-Kyuubi…

Kyuubi said then:

- Well, brat, you better show some respect, or I can make your life a hell – Noticing Naruto's reaction, he savored his terrorism to slow his horses down: -, and I'm sure you don't want Hinata to see **my bad side**, right?

Hinata got scared, and Naruto, seeing her, gulped. Kyuubi, content, said:

- Well, Naruto, what did you want to ask me?

Naruto took a deep breath ad asked:

- Well, Kyuubi, why is it so difficult for me to handle chakra?

Kyuubi answered quite quickly:

- Naruto, thanks to your heritage as a member of both the Namikaze and the Uzumaki Clans, you were born with a rather huge amount of chakra for a human. On the other side, you've got my chakra mixing up with yours constantly. That way, as you have too much chakra in your body, it's almost impossible for you to use small amounts of chakra yet.

Hinata said:

- Y-you have too much h-huge rocks in both your blue and red chakras, and you t-try to force them o-o-out of y-your body through f-fingertip-sized h-h-holes, Na-Naruto-kun… Y-you have to work harder in m-making the rocks smaller or even t-turn them to dust, so y-you can draw them out, without h-hurting yourself…

Naruto understood the explanation again with the same example his mother used before, and Kyuubi noticed that he'd have to search for simpler ways to explain himself with Naruto. Kyuubi sighed, and said:

- If you want, I can help you get your chakra boulders into dust. It shall take time, be sure of that, but you'll be able to use your chakra normally.

Naruto nodded, and grinned like a fox. Kyuubi, noticing the grin, replied with one of his own. Hinata, who watched the scene, blushed to a new shade of red. _Naruto-kun grins like a fox! His "foxy grin" is so cute! _Kyuubi said:

- Well, I guess I should say "It's been a pleasure to meet you", but I'm not sure how you'll take it. Anyways, Naruto, I shall be keeping in touch whenever you, or I, need to talk. Hinata, you seem to be very fond of Naruto, so you don't have to be afraid of me, okay? As long as you don't hurt Naruto, I won't harm you, and if he breaks your heart, I shall punish him until he fixes it. Even we, the demons, care for our people, and I know that there are few humans who do so.

Hinata nodded to the huge fox, and Naruto smiled at both of them. Kyuubi said:

- Well, it's time for the two of you to go. Your parents are concerned by now. Keep the secret about me if you want to have a life out there. The world is harsh, and having a demon inside you won't exactly be a friend-attractor. And you two: don't break apart if you don't want to suffer…

Naruto and Hinata left the sewers, vanishing in a smoke cloud.

Outside, the worried parents saw how both kids woke up, smiling and chuckling at each other. Minato asked, upset and concerned:

- What the hell just happened, Naruto?!

Naruto, looking at his worried father, stopped chuckling and said:

- I don't know, dad, I just tried to use my chakra with Hinata-chan's aid, then I stumbled, I passed out, and then I was in some strange sewers. I met this huge red fox with nine tails, and then Hinata-chan was also there. This fox talked to us, gave me some advice for my chakra usage, and even said "hi" to Hinata-chan! I guess it liked her!

Hinata nodded and said, blushing and twiddling her fingertips:

- I-It said that it won't hurt me a-as long as I'm N-Naruto-kun's friend…

Higan sighed in relief, saying to her daughter:

- Well, that's great, Hinata-chan; but you better tell no one about this, not even daddy or your cousin Neji; not if you want to keep seeing Naruto-kun, okay?

Hinata suddenly thought of the idea of not seeing Naruto again. _No… I won't endure not seeing Naruto-kun again…_ She nodded eagerly, and held Naruto's hand firmly. Naruto noticed this and blushed, for the amusement of his parents.

The door rang, and Minato opened the door, surprised to see Mikoto Uchiha on the other side of the door:

- Lord Minato, good afternoon. May I come in?

Minato nodded happily, seeing that she was bringing her younger son, Sasuke, to play with Naruto. The raven-haired boy started checking the Namikaze house, and then he saw the yard, running to see if there were any kids to play with. Mikoto saw Higan Hyuuga and greeted her warmly:

- Mind if I sit here and talk to you, guys?

Kushina said:

- No problem at all. Actually, I was about to make some tea. Want some?

Both Mikoto and Higan nodded, and they started to talk to Minato, while Kushina stepped onto the kitchen, ready to make the tea, and checking on the kids through the window.

Naruto and Hinata were playing hide-and-seek when they saw the raven-haired boy enter the yard. Naruto saw him and said:

- Hello there! Want to play with us?

Sasuke, a bit nervous, saw Hinata, and then he saw Naruto, asking finally:

- May I?

Hinata nodded and Naruto threw a thumbs-up sign to him. Sasuke, relieved, said:

- My name is Sasuke Uchiha!

Naruto threw him a ball playfully, and they all started throwing the ball to each other. Naruto said then:

- I'm Naruto Namikaze, and this is Hinata Hyuuga! Welcome!

The kids played with the ball and then they started running and fighting playfully. Even they started playing ninjas, as they created imaginary enemies and fought them all together. The parents were surprised to see how the kids were playing so fluidly. Mikoto said:

- Naruto makes friends quite easily, isn't it?

Minato laughed:

- Heh, heh! Yes, he does! Even when no one wants to befriend him, and I guess you know why, whoever gets close to him with good intentions becomes fond of him immediately!

Higan said:

- Actually, I bet Hinata-chan is fonder of Naruto-kun than with the kids in the Main and Branch families.

Mikoto said then:

- Well, I decided to bring him here. No one wants to befriend him, at least not between the closed groups of other Clans.

Higan said:

- Yes, I know what you mean. Everyone looks at my little Hinata-chan as if she was a weirdo. And now even more, as she is Naruto-kun's friend.

Minato said, smiling to the two worried mothers:

- Every once in a while, Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan go together and play in the Nara forest with the deer. I guess Sasuke-kun could go with them, if he wants to.

Mikoto said:

- As long as my young Sasuke-kun has friends outside of the Clan, then I shall let him go.

The parents were smiling and talking to each other.

In the yard, Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke were running in circles, playing to climb a tree, or roll in the floor, or whatever crossed the children's minds. Sasuke felt really good with these two kids, and Hinata was happy, as she was still with Naruto. The blond kid suggested:

- How about if we go to have some cinnamon buns?

Hinata nodded merrily in approval, and Sasuke said, a bit afraid:

- Cinnamon buns? I've never tried that, guys…

Naruto replied to him with a grin on his face:

- You haven't lived if you haven't tried a cinnamon bun, Sasuke! Let's go ask our parents!

The kids ran to the inside of the house, meeting their parents, and naruto started pouting like a sad puppy, asking them to go and have some cinnamon buns in the town. Mikoto couldn't say no to her son, and both Higan and Kushina replied:

- It's a good idea, actually! Let's go!

The group prepared to leave happily, and after a few minutes, the Namizake house was left behind, as the group walked to a sweets store. Meanwhile, hiding behind a wall, a twenty-five year old woman was watching them. She activated the radio in her ear and said:

- This is bad. The Fox brat befriended the Uchiha and the Hyuuga kids already! We can't force the Hokage to throw the Namikaze couple out of town as we planned! Not without the support of the two greatest Clans in here!

A voice on the other side of the radio replied:

- Damn it! I guess that, if the civilized methods won't work, we shall have to rely in loud protest and propaganda! Come back, Akane!

The red-haired girl ran to the northern section of the village, entering the building of the Civilian Council.

End of Chapter 7.

A/N: I know, kind of a fluffy chapter, but I liked how Kyuubi turned out to be. Anyways, I've decided to leave another cliffhanger as a Christmas gift. Enjoy and review!


	8. Chapter 8: Deception part 1: The Riot

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter 8: Deception part 1: The Riot.

The last month had passed with lots of inner turmoil in the Hidden Leaf Village. The Civilian Council was at war with the Council of Ninjas, as the civilians were watching Naruto Namikaze very closely.

His father, Minato Namikaze, kept being a great Ninja who served his village and who still protected his people as the Hokage did, and he made Hiruzen Sarutobi and the village's Clans proud. Of course, almost the whole ninja community was supporting him.

His mother, Kushina Uzumaki, was still being seen as a treacherous snake from a missing ninja village known as the Hidden Whirlpool, and rumors spread around the village's popular groups that she was some sort of demon who brought only bad things to the Hidden Leaf. Some even support that she'd rather be dead with the rest of her damned village than being alive here.

The worst thing is, she was also too powerful, as much as Minato Namikaze, and also there was the fact that attacking her would mean facing the Fourth Hokage's wrath, and every single civilian feared him. Of course, Kushina Uzumaki herself was as fearsome as he was when upset, and that gave her the support of the whole ninja Clans' community, so as the Third Hokage's one.

But the problem for all of them came in the name of the fruit of their love: the blonde boy known as Naruto Uzumaki. Many people suggested that the Kyuubi entered Kushina's womb under her consent, so she'd give birth to the terrible fox with human shape.

Others knew about Minato's sacrifice to lock the Kyuubi inside his own newborn son, but still they feared too much and cared too much about their own hides to see further than their fears, so they cowardly attacked the young kid. Even they suggested that they could kidnap the kid and stash him somewhere else in the world, and then force the Hokage to make of him a missing-nin, so anyone who could find him would kill him.

The few civilians who still trusted in Minato's judgment were disregarded as brainwashed or insane, and therefore they had no more voice or vote within the Civilian Council, so they were not a problem.

The great problem that the Civilian Council had was that the kid was already making friends within the Legendary Ninja Clans of the Hidden Leaf, and also thanks to him the Clans were cooperating with each other more fluidly, and their relationships were a lot closer in these last years than before his arrival.

The worst thing of all was that the Third Hokage, the old Hiruzen Sarutobi, found that the Civilian Council's highest supporters, the elder advisors Homura and Koharu, were judged as traitors to the village and were executed seven years ago. Now, the Civilian Council didn't have any influence on the decisions taken in the village, and a law was passed so the Namikaze Clan was left alone.

Of course, Minato and Kushina respected that law, and Naruto didn't have any problem with that. He didn't like to handle with civilians from his village excepting a handful of them, and he'd rather spend some time with his ninja friends and his parents.

The Hyuuga house had a very clear stance about that: they were supporting Naruto with all they could. The Hyuuga elders had learned to trust the young kid, as he somehow made their Clan head's heiress, Hinata, to gain confidence and improve in her fighting skills, and Hiashi Hyuuga was fond of him and his parents.

The Uchiha Clan was also very supportive of Naruto, and this house was the one who changed most thanks to the blonde kid. The Uchiha ninjas were now a lot more involved with the village's defenses and the political issues, and their decisions were proving to be worthy for the village's sake. The Clan head's sons were also worthy: Itachi was already taking the Jounin exams, and Sasuke also grew stronger by training with the Namikaze kid.

The Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi clans were also fond of Naruto and his parents. They used to assist Naruto in his training, and also they used to allow Minato and Kushina to assist their own children's training. Also, the Clans' heads' children have befriended Naruto quickly.

The Aburame house was quite strong in his neutral stance towards the situation, as with everything else, but after seeing the support Naruto and the Namikaze Clan were achieving, they decided that they could support him too.

The Inuzuka Clan, the Clan of the famous Dog Ninjas, was not particularly fond of foxes, even more of the Nine-Tailed Fox. But, somehow, they didn't see anything in Naruto that could lead them to think he was the Kyuubi himself, unlike the rumors spread by the civilians, and he also seemed to get along well with the other Clans, so they decided to give the kid a chance.

The Sarutobi Clan was the Third Hokage's family, and of course, they were fond of his decisions. Of course, they all agreed with him if he said Naruto Namikaze was trustful at all.

The minor Clans were also giving their support, so as the ANBU council, but the problem went, basically, between the civilians who trained themselves as ninjas, who were greatly influenced by the Civilian Council. Of course, they had big losses during the Kyuubi's invasion, but also the Clans had great losses of their own, and they could trust in the kid, so they were not accounted for as "brainwashed ninjas".

The biggest problem was that Danzou, who had obvious great interest in the young Namikaze, would try to overthrow the Council of Clans by using the Civilian Council to attempt placing himself as Hokage, or even to just snatch Naruto to his personal ranks. They could even turn Naruto into an orphan, and that should be enough for Danzou to rely on the village's laws wickedly and take the kid.

The old Hiruzen Sarutobi was checking on every single scenario, and he wasn't exactly enjoying what he was seeing. The Clan Heads were also checking everything. One of them had changed: Kegawa Inuzuka wasn't there in the Shinobi Council, but instead his ex-wife Tsume Inuzuka, a fearsome kunoichi who had the three strongest ninja dogs as her partners. Rumors spread around the village said that Kegawa got overwhelmed by his wife, and he left the Inuzuka compound.

The Civilian Council's representative, a man called Kurouso Bengi-no, was throwing argument after argument, boring the Clans' heads and the Hokage himself, but they all had to keep straight faces to show respect to the representative.

Of course, both Hiashi Hyuuga and Fugaku Uchiha had their respective bloodline traits activated, and also Tsume Inuzuka, who was far more aggressive than her ex-husband, smelled the pheromones the representative and the Civilian elders spread with each gesture, each word and each breath taken. Their faces were having the same reaction: _they want us to pose as a council of dictators who don't care about the civilians' needs…_

Kurouso Bengi-no was known for his manipulation skills between the civilians, so as for his underground businesses and deals with worldwide-renowned gangs. The problem was that no one ever found any clues to convict him. The arguments the representative voiced were like this:

- The Kyuubi wasn't killed, as that Minato Namikaze wants to make us believe!! His heretic wife allowed that demon to possess her womb, and we all fear that the Kyuubi wakes up and finishes what he started eight years ago!!

The Hokage realized that they took, at least, three filming cameras into the Council, which was strictly forbidden. _Those bastards come here and do as they please, and we have to let them do whatever wicked things cross their minds._ Hiashi, on the other side, was filled with anger. _Perhaps they really deserve the Kyuubi to slay them, even when he couldn't care less about it._

The other Clans' heads were bored of listening the always-repetitive argumentation presented by Kurouso Bengi-no. The Hokage made a hand sign, and two Jounin ninjas appeared behind the three cameramen, taking the filming cameras off their hands. This, of course, upset the civilians, who started screaming:

- They're coaxing our freedom of expression!! They're ruthless dictators!! They don't care about the civilians!!

The Hokage's words, cleverly recorded by the Jounin who got the three visible cameras, were like this:

- You know very well that it's strictly forbidden to bring filming or photographic cameras inside the ninja facilities. This should be enough to convict all of you to a ten-year prison sentence, while we restructure the filmed or photographed installations. These Jounin ninjas will take the filmed material, and once it's destroyed we could continue.

The civilians started yelling meanly, dealing with the discovery of their façades with political harassment. The Hokage could be very powerful, and also well versed, but even he couldn't manage a village riot of civilians. He said:

- We cannot listen to your new representative, Lord Kurouso Bengi-no, as we cannot obviously trust in him.

Fugaku Uchiha said:

- Every single word you've said in here has been no more than a lie, and you should remember that we're trained to detect liars like you.

Tsume Inuzuka replied:

- Else, you stink like resentment. It wasn't our fault that your so beloved elders wanted to overthrow the village's order, betraying all of us.

An elder known as Heihachi replied:

- We want the Namikaze family out of the Hidden Leaf Village! Immediately, and irrevocably!

Minato saw the elder Heihachi and something was wrong about it. Hiashi nodded at him and saw him with his Byakugan. Getting angry with the discovery, he yelled:

- ANBU Root has no power in the Council of Clans, Danzou!!

Danzou, discovered in his disguise, activated the Sharingan in his right eye. He said:

- No, but Root has power granted from the Civilian Council now, and I demand, with their power, that Naruto Namikaze is delivered to me, and his family be executed, or exiled from the village!

Shibi Aburame replied:

- You should show yourself instead of sending Shadow Clones like a coward. Your lust for power makes you play foul; even for being a ninja you're just despicable.

Danzou threw his Sharingan on the Aburame ninja, but he wasn't there anymore, so as any of the Clans' heads. Also the Hokage left the place, and Danzou was upset. He said to the villagers:

- Prepare the riots! We shall burn the Clans' compounds to the ground!!

The elders agreed, running outside the building to call for the civilians. The Hokage, seeing the mess that was going on in the village from his office, was also with the Clans' heads and the ANBU chief. He said:

- There's nothing here for us anymore, people…

Shikaku Nara said:

- Well, it shouldn't be smart at all to face that thing on our own. We better think in a way of retiring peacefully in the next two hours.

Chouza Akimichi asked:

- You really think we have that much time, Shikaku?

- Yes, we do, Chouza! But we better move on now, and find a place where we can establish ourselves again!

Fugaku Uchiha said:

- We shouldn't break apart at all; we can't lose strength now, guys!

Minato Namikaze said:

- I've got the perfect place, but we could have to hire some architects! Start thinking about some other places where we can go, and we shall meet over my head in an hour!

No one understood, but the old Sarutobi laughed soundly with Minato. Inoichi Yamanaka, looking at the two laughing Hokages, turned to see the Hokage Monument, and realized that Minato's head was sculpted in the mountain too. As he understood, he said, chuckling:

- Sure! We shall meet over Minato's head in an hour, with our families, our personal belongings, money and technique scrolls! The rest shall be burned to the ground!

The group understood, as Inoichi pointed at the Hokage Monument, and they all scattered. Hiruzen Sarutobi had a scroll ready, and called a trustful Jounin ninja called Hayate Gekkou. He handed the scroll at him and said:

- I want you to call for these Jounin ninjas and tell them to pack and meet us in the Hokage Monument, on Minato Namikaze's head in an hour. You should do so, if you don't want to be victim of the uprising riot organized by Danzou.

Hayate opened the scroll, recognizing all of the names, and nodded:

- I'd be glad to go with you, Lord Hokage! Let's go!

The old Hokage saw Hayate leave with a smoke cloud and he himself left the Hokage's office the same way.

The civilian leaders were running through the whole village, calling for the people as they ran:

- Arm yourselves with whatever you've got! Get ready to burn the Kyuubi and its lovers! The Clans must fall!!

Danzou ran with the civilian elders, and used his several Sharingan eyes to activate the characteristic Genjutsu to the civilian elders' words, helping to make them reach the civilian ears with more strength and conviction.

Hayate was having a hard time, but he could gather the group of fifty Jounin and Chuunin ninjas that the Third Hokage asked him to find. People like Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, Mighty Guy, Kurenai Yuuhi, Anko Mitarashi, Ibiki Morino, Himitsu Hyuuga and some others who proved to be worthy to the old Sarutobi's eyes, were waiting as the Clans showed up in the top of the Hokage Monument, over Minato Namikaze's head.

The Uchiha and the Hyuuga families ran together, protecting each other in case anything went wrong. The Yamanaka, Akimichi and Nara families did the same too. The Aburame, the Inuzuka, the Sarutobi and other Clans did on their own.

The Namikaze family was already in the top of the Hokage monument, waiting for the other Clans to arrive. As the hour passed, they all arrived. They were surely a huge number of people, but Minato's plan could work. The detail was that some civilians also left with them, particularly the ones who supported the earlier government, and those who wanted their children to become great ninjas. Kushina saw that everyone was here, and said to Minato:

- The abandoned Hidden Whirlpool Village is not too far from here, a couple of days ahead of us to the northeast.

Minato said:

- You think that all these people could get in there? That village wasn't exactly big, as far as I remember, Kushina.

Kushina smiled at him:

- Remember that the village was always inside a Genjutsu, my dear, and, as far as I know, you were the only one who could see it for real, and you never saw it completely…

Minato replied them:

- Well, we shall need to do this fast. It's probable that Danzou will want to slay us all, and it's quite difficult to hide such a trace, isn't it?

The old Sarutobi got close to them, carrying everything he cared for in a pocket, and said:

- Well, we're expecting to now what the plan is.

Kushina stated, yelling as loud as she could:

- We're restoring the Hidden Whirlpool Village! Let's go!

The rather large group listened to Kushina, surprised to listen to those words, and started to walk the way Kushina and Minato led them. The trip wouldn't be easy, and the group would have to be divided in groups, so they could handle themselves more properly and quickly, but this was all foreseen by the last of the Whirlpool Ninjas.

In the Hidden Leaf, voices were heard inside the Clans' compounds, voices of death cries and moans, as the enraged villagers entered and attacked the Clan members they found in there, murdering them in a killing spree. Danzou was satisfied with the results of the riot, and even the Hokage was gone, so the position would be completely handed to him in a silver plate. _I've taken care of those useless Clans, and now I can show the world my true power, being the most powerful and fearsome Hokage ever._

This self-proclaimed Fifth Hokage was already sitting himself in the place _he deserved to be_ since long ago, and he had promised to himself that this land would become the greatest military power of the whole continent. Now it was his time, and he wouldn't waste it anymore on any bunch of lazy-ass and power-hungry clans who could mess his plans up.

Now, he had to proclaim laws to keep the civilians happy as he started his plans for war, and then he'd snatch all of the Clans' techniques before any other ninja would. Now it was time to remake the paperwork, so he could **legitimate** himself in the power, and later he'd look for the special scroll of Kage-level techniques that the Hokage kept under his possessions.

End of Chapter 8.

A/N: Names. I thought of the name of the Civilian Council representative to make it a bit obvious in japanese: Kurouso Bengi-no (Bengi no Kurouso: 便宜の 黒嘘), meaning something like "the black lie of the convenience". Enjoy and Review!


	9. Chapter 9: Deception part 2: The Ambush

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

A/N: I know many things were not exactly clear in the last chapter, but don't worry; it'll all come up with no exaggerated or fancy explanations.

Chapter 9: Deception part 2: The Ambush.

Minato Namikaze couldn't just believe that some people could see the way of the Ninja as nothing else than a constant bloodbath and a never-ending fight for power. They couldn't believe that Danzou actually wanted them to fight against the civilians. _Fight against the civilians,_ _for the Gods' sake. What the hell is going on through that old bastard's mind? This was just a wicked way to throw us out of the village, and to make a terrible image of us! Put simply, civilian war propaganda!_

The young kids knew that this all was totally wrong, and they were raised within families who valued the life and who shared strong principles. They knew that their parents and families, even when they were powerful ninjas, they couldn't harm civilians, even less if their duty was to protect them. Then, none of them could understand how someone would want to use the civilians to attack their protectors. Somehow, they all thought that they would ask their parents later.

The fleeing group, after a long discussion with Ibiki Morino, ended up waiting in the mountain over the Hokage Monument, as the Hyuuga elders watched the whole situation in the town from above. Apparently, Ibiki's guess was right, and after all, the whole group of the Civilian Council wanted ninja blood to run on the streets frantically.

Of course, the Clans knew better than leaving their own people behind, so after a few minutes of discussion, the Clans' heads decided to keep the people happy with bread and **circus** to be able to leave in peace.

A group of at least forty ninjas from all Clans were working, coordinated by Ibiki Morino, in the massive Genjutsu that made the people believe that they were actually getting the Clans distracted and being able to slay them down, of course, with some resistance, but quite sloppily.

They had to see how their manors and compounds were surrounded by the angry mob that was controlled easily by the Civilian Council, who was controlled also by Danzou and his ANBU Root.

They could do their best to avoid the spotlight by keeping the villagers happy and making them believe the story of the Clans' deaths with no problems, but they knew that Danzou knew better than that, and surely he'd be expecting something like this from them all.

Now they had to leave, and they had to keep their eyes wide open. Soon the people will leave the under-siege compounds to go to their homes, and Danzou will start sending their ninjas to check if any kind of ninja techniques were left down, if he didn't do so already, and they needed to be as far away as possible before he realized that.

After almost half an hour, the people started to leave, and both Minato and Kushina started guiding the fleeing mass, with Naruto right beside them. The Namikaze Clan walked with the Sarutobi Clan and the civilian Jounin and Chuunin ninjas called by the Third Hokage himself to flee with them. The other Clans were all separated, but close enough to assist each other in case of anything happened.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, Danzou was quite content. The Clans were cautious enough to make the village fall in a Genjutsu to avoid being hunted by an angry mob as they fled away. Of course, he expected the exodus, but now he had to look everywhere to find those treacherous Clans who left him with only the indispensable thing. But something came up to his mind, and that was quite interesting.

He had at least one or two members of each Clan, kidnapped when children, and thanks to them he knew about many of the different bloodlines and special techniques of the Clans, but he wanted to make sure that even more of his agents could have those bloodline traits, and he could possess their techniques on his ranks.

Of course, this didn't limit itself to the Hidden Leaf's Clans, as he already had several of his agents "rescuing" orphans around the continent (most likely turned into orphans thanks to these same agents) to gather children with the bloodline traits he desired so much.

He sent his people to double-check the Clans' compounds in search for any hidden scrolls in the places, ready to do whatever to gather as many techniques as possible. As his agents left the office, he received an unexpected guest, but he wasn't startled at all:

- I see you sent for me, Danzou…

Danzou checked on the pale-white-skinned man in front of him and smirked after seeing his snake eyes:

- Sure I did, Orochimaru.

Orochimaru didn't trust the old man at all, but over everything he _envied_ him. Danzou had accomplished the only goal Orochimaru had in his life, and that was the possession of a Sharingan. The Snake Sannin said:

- Tell me one reason to not take your body right now.

Danzou, mocking the Snake Lord, said:

- What? Your three years in that body had passed already? You know better than killing me, you _Sannin_.

The title was used ironically, and Orochimaru could feel that poison in his voice. He replied:

- I don't really care about you at all, so, unless you have a hell of a deal for me, I won't hesitate to slay you down and leave back.

Danzou said:

- How about the possession of the different bloodlines in the Hidden Leaf?

Orochimaru's eyes opened wide:

- What do you talk about?

Danzou noticed Orochimaru's curiosity and replied:

- I want you to collaborate with me with some project I've thought about lately. It involves genetic research, so it might work for you.

Orochimaru's eyes opened wide. _That bastard knows a lot about my researches. I must be careful._ He said:

- Well, what's in it for me?

Danzou simply stated, taking a deep breath:

- I want you to gather DNA samples from the different Clans in the Hidden Leaf.

Orochimaru startled. He couldn't believe what he was being asked for. He said:

- That's not particularly easy. I'm not exactly welcome in the Clans' compounds.

Danzou replied:

- They're not in the compounds. They're leaving the village as we speak. Of course, they covered their tracks with a massive Genjutsu, and even I don't know which direction they took. I'll arm a search party, and I want you to go with them, sneak up on the Clans and gather DNA samples. If you want so, feel free to take an Uchiha for yourself as payment.

Orochimaru's eyes almost popped out of the surprise. He said then:

- That's not exactly an easy thing either, but if they're on the move, I should have more chances of doing this. But, what if I don't find a suitable Uchiha? Will you hand me any successful experiment I can do for you?

Danzou had to think about Orochimaru's proposal. Sure it was a lot better if Orochimaru could kidnap an Uchiha ninja and use it, but it should be quite impossible. On the other side, he'd be losing a valuable asset if he handed Orochimaru the first positive results in these experiments with the Uchiha blood. He said, after a few minutes:

- Do what you can over there; if you cannot take an Uchiha on your own, then we'll have a talk about this.

Orochimaru wasn't too happy with this deal, as he wanted to make sure he had a Sharingan after this was over. On the other side, even when he's a Sannin, facing the Hidden Leaf's Clans wasn't exactly an easy feat, but perhaps it could be worthy. He said:

- You say when the search party is ready and we shall go.

Suddenly, the office's door was knocked. Danzou commanded the one outside to enter, and he saw one of his agents entering the office. This dark-masked and dark-dressed ninja said:

- Sir, the Clans left nothing behind. Even the Namikaze left nothing.

Danzou turned upset. _This is going to be necessary, after all_. He replied:

- Very well, Mikazuki. I want you to organize a search party, an ambush party, and meet me here; at least fifteen agents. We'll have to do some work in the night.

Mikazuki left, and Orochimaru sat down, waiting for Danzou's agents to arrive.

After hours of walking in the night time, the groups decided to camp for the night. The huge camp took a rather short area of the forest, as there were several large tents, in which a bunch of families could sleep together. Minato and Kushina met the Clans' heads, and they were talking about important issues. Inoichi Yamanaka said:

- We've got a quiet trip up to now. I don't like this one bit.

Shikaku Nara replied:

- I'm pretty sure Danzou is planning something hideous, and it'll surely be something about ambushing us.

Tsume Inuzuka talked then:

- We shouldn't let our guard down, and make sure that we can mobilize quickly in case of ambushes.

Kushina replied:

- Believe me, we're rather a large group of persons, and it'll be easier to attack us while we sleep. We're just too many, so we have to organize several contingency measures to avoid as many losses as we can during an ambush.

The old Sarutobi said:

- Yes, that's right. I've got some things in mind. As a Hokage, I myself had to learn several mobilizing tactics to take the civilians out of the village in case of a massive attack. Listen here.

Hiruzen Sarutobi started guiding the Clans' heads into the different tactics, and they tried to make sure that each one of them passed the information to the Clans as fast as possible. The ambushes could start tonight, if they weren't lucky.

Not too far, a group of at least fifteen ninjas, all camouflaged in the forest, were leading Orochimaru through the trail that led him to the Clans. As one of them moved forward and found that they had camped for the night, the Snake Lord decided to wait until they slept to attack. Surely they'd have a guard, but, no matter how many of the Clans' ninjas there were, they could do nothing against the Great Snake Sannin.

An hour later, the camp's lights were turned off, and the first night shift placed itself, ready to warn the whole camp if anything happened. An hour later, neither of the watchmen expected to see what they were just watching, and as the horns were sounded, the people inside the camp woke up to see a huge, white Eight-Headed Snake. The chaos ran through the camp, as other three huge snakes showed up, surrounding the camp. Orochimaru was watching the massacre from a hidden post, and also saw a desperate summoning of a huge toad he recognized immediately:

- Gamabunta is here… Well, it'll be taken out too.

The fight was tough, and the losses were huge. Gamabunta was having a hard deal, as the Eight-Headed Snake was fighting him. The old Sarutobi called for Enka, and he was engaging in combat against one of the snakes. The rather few living ninjas were taking on the other snakes, who had already bitten and swallowed some ninjas for good.

Orochimaru, realizing that he had captured enough ninjas of some of the Clans to consider his job done, armed hand seals, teleporting himself and the snakes elsewhere.

The people were trying to gather themselves. The Inuzuka ninjas were not exactly a lot, and they had to account for some losses, not only between the ninjas, but also between the dogs. The Aburame ninjas were beaten hard, as almost half their family members were gone for good. The Yamanaka ninjas were reunited with the Akimichi and the Nara, accounting their own losses and attending the wounded people that could still be rescued.

The Hyuuga and the Uchiha ninjas were checking everything, as they both were hit the hardest. More than half of their ninjas were gone, and both Hiashi and Fugaku were checking that their families were okay. Fugaku found his two sons and his wife, and Hiashi could find her wife and her two daughters. As they were all safe, they decided to check on the rest of the people.

Hiashi found that his brother Hizashi was being attended by medic ninjas due to a serious wound in his chest, but he saw that he was just getting better slowly, so he decided to leave him. As he found Neji was still alive also, he decided to calm down. The actual losses in the Clan were quite unbearable, but he was glad that his closest ones were still alive.

The Sarutobi were a bit harmed, but there was something very terrible: the old Third Hokage passed away during the battle, and the mourning was general. Minato, Kushina and Naruto were all right; a bit bruised, perhaps, but they were protected by Gamabunta. The large toad said:

- I didn't like this. Orochimaru was behind this, I know it.

Mianto replied the bruised giant toad:

- You've done a great job, lord Gamabunta. Thank you. I guess you can go home now.

Gamabunta vanished in a large smoke cloud, and Minato, realizing that there was no chance to even bury the dead properly, gathered the Clans' heads. He said, quite worn out and shocked:

- Damn it, this wasn't what I expected when I thought of an ambush…

Fugaku Uchiha replied, also shocked and impotent:

- Neither any of us did, I'm sure of that.

Hiashi Hyuuga said, quite sad:

- Those bastard snakes had done a hell of a job to reduce our numbers… and our families…

The other Clans leaders couldn't even speak, and Minato was sharing their pain, as many of the deceased ninjas were known to him, and some were even his friends and partners. He said, looking down:

- We've lost so many people and so important people tonight… but you know well that we can't bury them properly, so we'll have to burn the bodies to keep us safe in our trip.

Two of the Hokage's sons, Kon'en and Asuma Sarutobi, were seeing the meeting by Minato's request. They were clearly disagreeing with just burning the body of the Third Hokage, their father, but they knew that, if they wanted to make it to their destiny alive, they had to. Kon'en Sarutobi said:

- Well, then, we should collect the dead and make a ritual fire with them. When we get to the Whirlpool Village, we should make a memorial for them all.

Asuma replied:

- That's right, brother. Let's do this.

The two Sarutobi and the Clans' heads started dragging the dead bodies, grouping them in a place and stacking them. Then Minato called for everyone to gather and start the funeral. As the closest to a Hokage in the whole group, Minato had to carry the responsibility of the rite, and he said:

- Tonight we've been victim of a hideous attack, and we've lost countless lives. But we still need to move on, and we cannot take those we lost today with us but in our hearts.

The survivors were crying, and Minato himself couldn't suppress a tear. He turned to see Kushina, and he saw her crying waterfalls of tears. Beneath the dead there were men, women, elders and children, and even some dogs from the Inuzuka. Minato turned to Kon'en and Asuma, and as they nodded at him, said:

- We've gathered the names of those murdered tonight, and for tomorrow night we should make it to the Whirlpool Village in the Land of Eddies. Once we get there and set ourselves, we shall build our own memorial, in honor for the Third Hokage and the First Uzukage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the brave ninjas who fought today.

Then the whole group started prayers, guided by Minato, and as the prayers ended, the corpse stack was turned in fire as the Uchiha survivors and every one who could control Fire chakra spit fire to the corpses, making sure to not leave any trace of the dead ones. After the troubling scene, the group went back to try and rest, even when none of them would actually be able to rest at all.

The next morning, Danzou was very happy with the result of the raid executed by Orochimaru. Even when the Great Clans of the Hidden Leaf were fearsome and powerful, their lack of desire for war made them easy to toy with for him. Every single attempt for them to attain the peace he _knew_ a ninja could **never** obtain was fruitfully twisted, and now their desire to leave and reach for that impossible peace took its toll on them. Danzou was willing to show them a bit of what he had prepared for the whole world, and he'd make them, so as the rest of the continent, bow before him.

He was hearing the mission debriefing from Orochimaru:

- We've already taken the kidnapped ninjas to the facilities you've prepared in the Root complex. Of course, I've got my payment for this mission, and he's being held safely.

Danzou, seeing Orochimaru, said:

- You'd want to become my advisor, old snake? I shall need someone powerful and wise to keep this village straight as it deserves to be kept. Also, I need you to perform the genetic research I'll need, and who knows, you could outlive me and take my position.

Orochimaru's eyes opened wide in surprise. _The old fox is offering me become Hokage as a long-term pay for my services…_ The Snake Lord replied:

- Very well… I guess I have no other choice than accepting. I can't have you as my enemy, and you sure as hell don't want me as an enemy.

Danzou grinned, confident, and extended a hand to Orochimaru. The Snake Sannin shook his hand firmly, and then said:

- Well, then, when should I start with the research?

- Whenever you want, _chief advisor_.

Orochimaru bowed towards the Fifth Hokage and left. Danzou knew that things couldn't have come out better: he had at least one ninja of each Clan in the Leaf, plus some shinobi rescued from the recent bloodline massacre in the Hidden Mist and some particular bloodlines he stole from the Hidden Cloud village.

On the other hand, he had reduced the amount of traitors who left the Hidden Leaf, hoping that he could take off any of the leaders of the Clans. The bad news was that Orochimaru couldn't capture Naruto Namikaze, but he could surely dismiss it as nothing. He already had a sample from the Namikaze DNA to experiment with, and there were other eight Tailed Beasts to capture.

In the forest to the east of the Fire Country, Minato and Kushina were leading the survivors of the attack. The air was rather gloomy within the group, but now they could move faster, and they would reach the Land of Eddies in less time than thought.

After a few hours, the group finally entered the Land of Eddies. Kushina took the lead of the group and led them through the small country. A group of guards stopped them as they entered the first town in the country, and one of them said:

- Identify yourselves.

The words said by Kushina surprised the guards entirely:

- I am Kushina Uzumaki, leader and survivor of the Uzumaki Clan, and a ninja of the Whirlpool Village. These people around me are Whirlpool Ninjas.

The one who seemed to be the captain of the group said:

- Very well, lady Uzumaki. We've heard that you survived the Kyuubi's attack in the Hidden Leaf. What brings you back here?

Kushina said, pointing at the group behind her:

- I guess _we_ should talk about our situation with the Feudal Lord directly. We want to rebuild the Whirlpool Village.

The captain of the guard replied then:

- We shall prepare a convoy for you to see the Feudal Lord. You might to want to come with us.

The guards walked the group of immigrants to the building of the town's governor. Finally it seemed that they had reached their destiny.

End of Chapter 9.

A/N 1: I know this turn of events was quite messy, but I think I can repay you for your loyalty with my future ideas for this story. I hope I didn't mess it up that much (I particularly liked how it ended up coming out). Please enjoy and review! =)

A/N 2: Names: Kon'en Sarutobi. I thought of Kon'en (紺猿) as something like "deep blue monkey". As far as I know, Asuma's brother's name was never told, so I took the liberty to make a name for him.


	10. Chapter 10: The New Whirlpool

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter 10: The New Whirlpool.

The self-exiled families of the Hidden Leaf Village were taken in a large convoy to the City of the Feudal Lord. After two days of a very long trip, they reached the City. Naruto couldn't believe how beautiful was that city, and Kushina was remembering her childhood, when her parents took her for a vacation there.

The city was full of beautifully-crafted buildings, but not a single decoration was non-functional. The people could see religious temples, markets, houses, different locals, a fair in the city for the children to have fun, the police stations and even a firefighter station.

Fugaku Uchiha saw the police station and remembered his Clan's imposed job in the Hidden Leaf. He saw how the "policemen" just wore a single kimono and a couple of swords and realized that the policemen here were samurai.

Finally, they reached the castle of the Feudal Lord. Minato and Kushina left their own chariot, wearing headbands with the shape of a helix, leaving Naruto to the few civilians and Jounin and Chuunin who made it through that terrible night. The Clans' heads also joined them as they entered the castle. The guards saw the headbands and got shocked, allowing the group to enter. _Are there any Whirlpool ninjas still alive? Can it be?_

The group slowly walked into the rich castle, and a servant who also recognized the headbands guided them to the Feudal Lord's personal office. As the doors opened wide, Kushina saw that the Feudal Lord was perfectly known to her, and _that_ was a huge surprise. He asked, quite bored:

- Please, let them in… - Suddenly, he saw Kushina and his eyes opened wide. His voice also trembled: - Lady… K-Kushina…

Kushina saw the rather young man who sat in the Feudal Lord's desk. His black hair was short, his also black eyes seemed a bit tired, but the vision of Kushina Uzumaki refreshed **and** shocked them. His black moustache was thin, and it was catching a tear that dripped from his left eye. His gray kimono and his red belt were well cut, and the kind of silk used to make them was just too expensive and beautiful. Kushina's smile was just wide enough to let one single word come out of it:

- Brother!! You're alive!!

The Feudal Lord jumped of joy, leaping with agility from the desk to hug her long-lost sister. The Clans' heads were seeing the scene, and some of them thought that this was a good thing for them all. Kushina said:

- I thought you were killed during the invasion, Katsuji!

Katsuji, the Feudal Lord, replied happily:

- And I thought you died during the attack of the Nine-Tails, Kushina!

Kushina laughed:

- Then, I guess we should keep in touch more often! These are my friends, the heads of several Ninja Clans who left the Hidden Leaf with us.

Kushina introduced the group one by one, and Katsuji saluted them with due respect. Katsuji himself was a ninja during his youth, and he hadn't forgotten things from those times. He said:

- It's really a pleasure for me to meet you. I guess what was said is true; you come to rebuild the Hidden Whirlpool Village!

Kushina replied:

- Actually, yes! We fled from a power-lusty and war-hungry bastard who wanted to get the best of us, and we decided to come back here.

Katsuji saw that they all were worn out and sad, even when their eyes reflected hope. He said:

- Actually, the Hidden Whirlpool has come back to life again, and I'm really sure that they will want one of their oldest Clans back. On the other side, the Leaf's Clans are too powerful for not bidding them our warmest welcome.

Katsuji started checking some papers while he said:

- The Hidden Whirlpool's grounds are quite vacant, as the civilians have filled their own space again, and only five of the original twenty Clans were able to flee and return to it in the shadows. So, I guess you won't have much of a problem to fix some of the compounds and apartments and make your lives again.

After signing some papers, he handed a scroll to Kushina and said:

- You'll be glad to know who the Second Uzukage is, sister, so I guess I won't take any of your time anymore. You all seem to need to rest, and I need to work a lot, heh, heh.

Kushina realized then that the stacks of papers in Katsuji's desk were huge, and giggled:

- Heh, heh, very well, I shall leave you with the paperwork from hell, brother! Thanks for everything!

Katsuji hugged Kushina again, and she returned the gesture warmly. Then, she turned to the Clans' heads, and they all left back to the convoy.

After a couple of hours on the road, they finally reached the rebuilt gates of the Hidden Whirlpool Village. One of the Jounin guards of the village got close to them, wearing a light blue vest over black clothes, and saw Minato and Kushina, wearing the Whirlpool headbands. This startled the Jounin, and he stuttered, surprised:

- G-good evening, w-who are you? Whirlpool ninjas?

Kushina giggled a bit and said:

- Good evening. My name is Kushina Uzumaki, survivor of the Uzumaki Clan. My brother, the Feudal Lord, sends this to your Uzukage.

The Jounin received the scroll and read it, his eyes opening wide. _I cannot believe it! The Usumaki Clan comes back, and they bring a new amount of Ninja Clans!_ He said, still not believing what he saw and read:

- F-follow me then. L-Lord Uzukage should be waiting for you.

The gates were open, and the groups left the convoy, as they realized the village was in an island, a huge island, in the middle of the ocean. The families jumped to large ships, sailing to the island.

The eyes of the young children were amazed with the view of the dusk behind them: the sun was turning red as it hid beneath the trees of the Fire Country's forests, and for them, it meant that their former lives as Leaf ninjas was gone for good, and a new life was about to start for them in this new Hidden Village.

Inoichi Yamanaka was looking at the dusk with his young blond daughter, Ino, and he said to her:

- Well, girl, I guess the trip you wanted so badly finally came out for good.

Ino, seeing at her father, said:

- Yes, daddy, I just hope that we could go back. I left a few friends in the Hidden Leaf.

Inoichi laughed, and Ino frowned:

- What's so funny, daddy?

- Ha, ha, ha! Come here, my dear! I'll tell you what: you'll make even better friends in here than those you made in the Hidden Leaf! After all, they all broke your heart after what they did.

Ino, understanding the words of her father, replied back:

- Yes, you're right… I just hope this new village is as beautiful as the Leaf…

Inoichi smiled, hugging her daughter.

On the boat trip, Shikaku Nara was watching the scenario calmly, until his son Shikamaru woke him up:

- Dad…

- Tell me, Shikamaru… - Shikaku's voice sounded bored. Shikamaru asked, quite innocently:

- Why is it that the boat is taking so many detours to reach the island?

Shikaku had noticed the same thing, and was actually wondering what made the small fleet move so erratic, but realizing his son was actually noticing such details made him glad. He took his son, with a renewed smile, to the captain of the ship. The captain saluted them:

- Nice dusk, isn't it?

Father and son nodded to the captain. He asked then:

- What can I do for you, gentlemen?

Shikaku turned to his son and asked:

- My son noticed that your fleet is taking quite an amount of detours to make it to the island.

The captain laughed soundly as he replied:

- Don't worry about it! It's just that we have to pass through our own underwater defenses.

The Nara men were glancing at each other, with amused looks. Shikaku bowed to the captain in sign of gratitude, and he took his son back to the deck, sitting on the floor as he took out a Shougi board from a scroll inside his backpack. Soon, they'd start to play.

After an hour, the fleet arrived to the island. The Hidden Whirlwind Village was huge, even bigger than the Hidden Leaf Village, and also it was prettier. Ino's eyes opened wide, and also those of the civilians who left the Hidden Leaf, willing to start new lives.

The people had been guided through the town by the Jounin, and finally, they were taken to the Uzukage's office. The Uzukage claimed that the representative of the large group entered, and both Kushina and Minato entered, wearing their Whirlpool headbands. Of course, the Uzukage was shocked to see the face, and said, stuttering:

- K-Kushina… d-daughter…

Kushina saw the old bald man, with a white moustache and a beard on his face, and recognized him, even after almost ten years of not seeing him:

- Father?! You're the Uzukage?!

The Uzukage saw Kushina and claimed, crying a tear of joy:

- Daughter!!!! The Clan is alive again!!!!

- Yes, it is, Father!! It is!!

Both Kushina and the old Uzukage jumped to hug each other, and she said:

- I see that you and my brother survived, but…

The Uzukage said, sad:

- Everyone else tried to flee to the Hidden Mist against my advice, and ended up being slaughtered within the Bloodline Massacre. Now it's just you and me.

Kushina glanced to Minato and replied:

- Oh! I forgot! This is the great man I share my life with, father, Minato Namikaze! He was the Fourth Hokage! Minato-kun, this is my father, Gufuu Uzumaki.

Minato bowed to the Uzukage, but he extended a hand to the Hokage. Gufuu said:

- Don't need to be so formal with me, young one! You kept my daughter alive and well, and I'll receive you into our village.

Minato shook his hand firmly, a bit blushed, and said:

- I really appreciate that, lord Gufuu.

The Uzukage said, a bit more serious:

- I heard that you came here with the Hidden Leaf's Clans. Tell me about it, please.

Minato explained:

- We, the Namikaze and Uzumaki Clans, have fled the Hidden Leaf, and the main Clans of the Leaf, so as several quality ninjas and civilians, who didn't bear to live under the oppression of a war-hungry bastard, followed us. The Hyuuga, Uchiha, Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Aburame, Inuzuka and Sarutobi Clans joined us in our trip, and we had to endure the deaths of many in our families, due to attacks from one of the Sannin: Orochimaru.

Gufuu turned serious then, and said:

- Well, you came here with the permission of the Feudal Lord, so I cannot say no to your petition. Also, we shall need to raise our military power soon, as the news you bring me from the Hidden Leaf aren't exactly nice. So, I've taken the liberty to fix some of the old compounds, in case we could convince any unsettled Clan to join us.

The Uzukage smiled at the couple and said:

- Well, it's time to take this business seriously. Tell your people that they can install themselves in the village, and also tell their main representatives that we all shall have a talk over here. I want to know about these new Clans more than what's told in gossips and rumors. And also I want these new Clans to get acquainted with the few ones who still live in here.

Kushina and Minato, quite happy, said:

- Sure will do!

The Uzukage said then:

- And, do you plan on getting married?

Both young adults blushed, and Gufuu laughed:

- Heh, heh, I guessed so! Well, go ahead and do what you got to do, then we can talk about that!

Minato and Kushina nodded, leaving the place. Going back to the rest of the group, they said, merrily:

- We've been welcomed here! Let's choose our new places to live, and then we all shall meet up with the Uzukage and also acquaint with the Villages' Clans!

The whole group was quite content, and then the Jounin of the Whirlpool led them to the respective free terrains. They took terrains close to the center, the Clans taking seven of the empty compounds. Minato and Kushina settled themselves in the old Uzumaki manor, in the center of the town.

After everything was done, and after everyone could relax for a bit, Minato and Kushina gathered the Clans' heads and the free Jounin and Chuunin, so as the civilians, who also settled themselves in free apartments in the center of the town. They all walked to the Uzukage's office, and the old Gufuu Uzumaki received them. He was accompanied with a group of five adult shinobi. Gufuu let the group enter and said:

- Please, be welcome to the Hidden Whirlpool Village. Once more, I'm glad to know that you could make it here. I've been told you had a really hard time on your way here, and we'd like to assist you in whatever we can.

Minato and Kushina nodded, and after them, the Clans' heads, and the clan-less ninjas, so as the few civilians did so. Gufuu said, smiling:

- First, I'd like to know about you, lords.

Minato started:

- My name is Minato Namikaze. I'm the actual head of the Namikaze Clan, one of the few who inherited the physical prowess and the huge amounts of chakra from the ancient Senju Clan. We're also owners of the Toad Summoning Contract and, as far as Kushina has told me, apparently we're technique creators like the Uzumaki.

Gufuu smiled as he heard the young Namikaze. Hiashi, after seeing everyone nod at him, stood up and said:

- My name is Hiashi Hyuuga. I'm the head of the Hyuuga Clan, the owners of the bloodline trait known as Byakugan. We're also in possession of the unique Gentle Fist fighting style, and we also have diplomatic skills whenever necessary.

The Uzukage replied to that:

- We should find real good uses to your Clan's services, lord Hiashi. We actually have no diplomats in the village.

Hiashi sat, and then Fugaku stood up:

- My name is Fugaku Uchiha. I'm the head of the Uchiha Clan, the owners of the bloodline trait called Sharingan. We also have high skills in usage and detection of Genjutsu, so as the most powerful Fire techniques in the Hidden Village. We used to work as the Hidden Leaf's Police, so as in the Interrogation and Torture Department and in the village's defenses.

Gufuu Uzumaki said:

- Interesting, really interesting! We actually didn't have any Fire chakra users in the village, so your arrival is also more than welcome!

Shibi stood up then:

- My name is Shibi Aburame, and I'm the head of the Aburame Clan, the insect breeders. We're insect collectors, and we also train them to fight our enemies. I'm well versed in the usage of at least ten kinds of insects, for attack, defense, scout, track and guard.

Gufuu saw Shibi and said:

- That's quite interesting. I'd live to see how your Clan acts in combat.

Kon'en stood up:

- My name is Kon'en Sarutobi. I'm the head of the Sarutobi Clan, the owners of the Monkey Summoning Contract. We're well versed in Earth Chakra usage, in Taijutsu and weapons techniques. Our former leader was the Third Hokage, but he was killed during a raid we received in our way here.

The Uzukage saw Kon'en and said:

- Hmm… the family of a Hokage shouldn't be bad at all. On the other side, having another legendary summoning contract in the village is also something great.

Tsume stood up, and her three dogs stood beside her:

- I'm Tsume Inuzuka, and I'm the head of the Inuzuka Clan. We're specialists in tracking skills, and we also developed the human-dog bond and the Man-Beast Taijutsu abilities.

Gufuu Uzumaki saw the three dogs that flanked Tsume and replied:

- That's something I'd like to watch myself either, but tracking skills are always good around here.

Inoichi stood up then:

- I'm Inoichi Yamanaka. I'm the head of the Yamanaka Clan. We're mentalists, and we use to work well within the Interrogation and Torture sections, so as well in scouting missions and as support for combat and sneaking-in missions.

Gufuu saw him:

- Quite interesting. I've never heard before of mentalist ninjas. You'll probably get some interesting work over here.

Chouza stood up then:

- My name is Chouza Akimichi, and I'm the head of the Akimichi Clan. We're the developers of the Body Growth techniques, so as experts in the development of military food supplies. We also work with blunt weapons techniques.

The Uzukage saw the huge ninja and replied:

- Hmm… research in military food supplies, my people should use your help a lot.

Shikaku stood up, finally, and said:

- At last, it's me. I'm Shikaku Nara, head of the Nara Clan. We're expert strategists, masters of the dilatory Shadow Manipulation techniques, and we also have the greatest research file in medicine. We use to live with deer, so we brought you a couple and we took the compound closest to the village's small woods, so our research can continue.

Gufuu Uzumaki was delighted:

- Even you brought strategists and medic ninjas! Well, you all came quite prepared! It's glad to have you here, and also I'd be honored to see you in action. Let's introduce the local Clans' heads.

Pointing at an old man with white hair and beard, The Uzukage said:

- This man is Mizugei Aokiri, from the Aokiri Clan. These are the Water Style experts in the village, so as the sword masters of the village.

Mizugei Aokiri, who stared at the whole group with his deep blue eyes, bowed before the newcomers. The Uzukage pointed at a gray-haired woman and said:

- This is Fukurou Yozora, from the Yozora Clan. This clan holds our special trackers, people who can acute their senses with their chakra in the nighttime, making them our most valuable night raiders. They also have the Owl Summoning Contract, so they are also great messengers.

Fukurou Yozora saluted with a bow and said:

- It's good for me and my Clan to receive you into the Hidden Whirlwind Village.

The Uzukage pointed at a hairless man, and said:

- This is Takeshi Kinzoku, from the Kinzoku Clan. They have this rare bloodline that allows them to turn parts of their bodies into any metal they have with them, without losing mobility or vital functions. They're our frontline ninjas.

Takeshi Kinzoku turned his silver eyes to the group and raised a hand in a greeting gesture. The Uzukage said, pointing to another man, with light purple hair:

- This is Kintarou Kashikoi, from the Kashikoi Clan. They're our greatest tacticians and strategists, also being our main weapon masters. They're also researchers in the creation and usage of weapons and ninja tools.

Kintarou Kashikoi bowed before the group and said:

- It's a pleasure to meet you – Then he turned towards Shikaku Nara and said: -. I'd like to talk to lord Nara after this, if possible.

Shikaku Nara nodded, accepting the upcoming challenge, and the Uzukage pointed at a gorgeous white-haired woman who wore tight white clothes:

- And this is Kaori Rakurai, from the Rakurai Clan. They are the village's Lightning Style masters, and they are also the most versed in medical knowledge and skills.

Kaori stood up, revealing her attractive figure, and greeted the Clans heads with her angelic voice:

- It's good to count on more ninja Clans in this village, even more if they can help us with the medical research.

The whole group nodded at her, and she sat down again. The Uzukage replied:

- It's good to know that you're all acquainted for now, and I can't wait to see you all together in live action.

Kushina replied, to both the Uzukage and the Whirlwind's Clans' heads:

- Thank you for allowing us in, and thank you all for bothering to meet us.

The Uzukage replied with a smile:

- Don't worry about that now, daughter. You're all welcome aboard, and I hope you do your best to help us grow as a ninja village.

The newcomers said, glad, at the same time:

- We won't disappoint you, lord Uzukage!

The Uzukage replied then, quite content:

- Well, well, I like to hear that. You should get ready and get some rest. I'd like to have your children in our Ninja Academy, and also I grant the civilians and free Jounin and Chuunin to settle down and resume your old works. We shall start providing the civilians with whatever you might need to start working, and the Jounin and Chuunin should come here tomorrow with the Clans' heads to make the paperwork and turn you legally into Whirlwind Ninjas. Welcome, once again, and now you're dismissed.

The group bowed before the Uzukage, and they all left. The Whirlwind Clans' heads stayed with the Uzukage, and he asked them:

- I really like them, and they seem to want to start a new life. What do you think?

The five heads of Clan nodded at the Uzukage, also content with the introduction of the newcomers. The Uzukage replied:

- Then, it's settled. You can go home.

The other five ninjas left and the Uzukage got ready to close the office, going for a nice sleep.

End of Chapter 10.

A/N: Names: Mizugei Aokiri: Mizugei would go for "tricks with water" (水芸), and Aokiri would go for "blue mist" (青霧).

Fukurou Yozora: (Fukurou = 梟: "owl" and Yozora = 夜空: "night sky") this name would mean something like "the owl in the night sky".

Takeshi Kinzoku: Kinzoku (金属) would go for "metal". It was quite simple, heh, heh.

Kintarou Kashikoi: Kashikoi (賢い) would go for "wise, clever, smart".

Kaori Rakurai: Rakurai (落雷) would go for "thunderbolt".

Introduction to homemade Clans, and new powers to aid the ex-Leaf! Please enjoy and review!


	11. Chapter 11: The Ninja Academy

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter 11: The Ninja Academy.

- Dad! Mom! Today's the first day in the Ninja Academy!

Minato and Kushina were amused with Naruto. Finally he would go to the Ninja Academy, as their parents promised him, and he got ready eagerly. Minato saw Naruto carrying a backpack and asked:

- Hey, kid, why the backpack?

Naruto saw his father and his mother, who were both making breakfast, and said:

- Well, father, didn't you tell me that, in school, I'd receive books for the lessons?

Kushina laughed soundly:

- Well, yes, sure! But you're carrying a **full** backpack! You're not planning to prank someone out there, are you?

Naruto shook his head 'no', but, just in case, he opened his backpack. Minato checked it quickly, finding that he was carrying a towel and spare clothes. He asked:

- Hmmm… what are you planning, Naruto?

Naruto grinned and said:

- I just wanted to take a swim in the large beaches after the class!

Kushina warned him:

- It's not a good idea to go there alone, kid!

Naruto pouted:

- Why, mom?

Kushina smiled, seeing his son's pout, and decided to play a bit with him:

- Well, because there are lots of sharks, man-eating whales, maelstroms, tsunamis, octopuses, poisonous jellyfish and piranhas, waiting for some foolish child like you to enter the seas alone.

Naruto was scared enough to run to his room and leave his spare clothes and his towel back in his room. Minato saw Kushina with an upset look as she laughed soundly. When Naruto came back, Kushina was laughing like mad, and Minato shook his head, smirking:

- She was just joking with you, Naruto-kun.

Naruto's face turned upset, but grinning evilly, and Kushina knew what this meant, so she decided to attempt a peace agreement:

- Your face was priceless, Naruto-kun… But, seriously, don't go to the seaside alone. Whenever we can, we'll take you there, okay?

Naruto, realizing that the advice was serious this time, changed his expression to a more serious tone, and asked:

- Mom, how is the Ninja Academy here?

Kushina replied:

- Well, it's almost like the Leaf's Ninja Academy. Boring theory lessons, Taijutsu practice, weapons practice, survival skills practice, and, over all, the particularity of meeting the kids around you, as they will all become your teammates in the future.

Naruto, seeing how his mother smiled tenderly, ran to her leg and hugged her. Minato said:

- That's true, kid. Now, let's have breakfast and we'll take you to the school, okay?

- Sure, dad, mom!!

The family went to the table and had a complete breakfast. After an hour, they left the Uzumaki compound and walked towards the Whirlpool Village's streets, seeing all what was there to offer them. After a nice walk, the family reached the Ninja Academy. Naruto saw that it was a rather huge building.

There were, also waiting, Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, taking the young Sasuke to his first day at school too. Sasuke saw Naruto and greeted him:

- Hey!

Naruto waved his hand to the Uchiha kid and said:

- First day at school, huh? I'm quite excited! How about you, Sasuke?

Sasuke replied:

- Sure I am, Naruto! Have you seen the other guys?

Naruto shook his head, but then other kids and their families started arriving. Soon, Naruto felt someone behind him, staring at him, and decided to turn his sight towards the stalking figure. He found Hinata checking on him, hiding behind her parents, and waved a hand to her:

- Hinata-chan!! You come to school too?!

Hinata, blushing furiously, smiled:

- U-um, s-sure, Naruto-kun!

Naruto walked towards her and grabbed her hand, making her blush to a deeper red tone. Hiashi and Higan Hyuuga saw the blond kid with their daughter and decided to let her go. Hinata waved goodbye to her parents (well, as much as she could; having Naruto hold her hand and doing something else without passing out was quite difficult for her), and Naruto took her to Sasuke.

The trio started talking, when, all of a sudden, the place was full with kids and parents. Even some of the civilians who left from the Hidden Leaf with Kushina and Minato were taking their children to the Ninja Academy, to ensure that they could defend themselves properly.

Hinata could recognize her cousin, Neji, standing aside from the group. She knew that he was one year ahead of her, and that he'd have to see different classes too, but she noticed that his look was quite sad. She made Naruto notice him, and he asked:

- Why is he like that, Hinata-chan?

Hinata asked, stammering:

- D-do you think that… that we m-might have a chance to t-t-talk with him, Na-Naruto-kun?

Suddenly, the bell of the Ninja Academy rang loudly, and the people entered. Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke were grabbed by their parents and taken inside the huge building of the Ninja Academy. There were four Chuunin ninjas waiting with lists in his hands. The first one who spoke was a light-blue-haired woman, perhaps in her early 20's, dressed in black, and wearing a blue Chuunin vest. She said:

- Good morning, everyone. My name is Aiko Tenchi, and I am one of the teachers for the first year of the Ninja Academy. I'm well aware that there are lots of children here, counting the newly arrived ones from the Hidden Leaf, just for the first year. So, we decided to divide the groups in three classrooms. I'll be calling the ones who will come to my class, so, pay attention.

Aiko was calling the kids one by one. Suddenly, she said:

- Naruto Namikaze.

Naruto, excited, let go of Hinata's hand, running to the classroom indicated by the Chuunin. Another name was called:

- Hikari Kashikoi.

Hikari Kashikoi was a rather pretty girl with violet hair and brown eyes. She wore a brown jacket and dark purple pants. As she heard her name, she waved goodbye to her parents and entered the classroom. Aiko called for other name:

- Shikamaru Nara.

Shikamaru, quite sleepy, had to take a little push from his _also_ bored father to walk towards the classroom, but a scream from Yoshino Nara, his mother, was enough to make him shiver and race towards the classroom:

- DON'T YOU DARE TO FALL ASLEEP IN CLASS, OR I'LL KICK YOUR ASS, KID!!!!

Everyone was quite scared with the attitude of Yoshino Nara, and even Shikaku stood in a defensive stance, to avoid her wrath. Shikamaru, of course, didn't even want to see her face, and entered the classroom. A couple of other names were called, and then she said:

- Hinata Hyuuga.

Hinata blushed like mad, but her smile was huge. _I'm in the same class with Naruto-kun!!_ She raced to the classroom and entered. Another name was called:

- Kawabuchi Aokiri.

A dark-blue-haired boy, gray eyes, and dressed in dark gray clothes, entered the classroom quietly. Aiko called some other names, and said:

- Sakura Haru-no.

A pink-haired girl who was a bit afraid to leave her parents was pushed a bit. Her father told her:

- Go on, my dear. You'll like the school.

The young Sakura turned her green eyes on her father and nodded, running to the classroom. A couple of names were called again, and then was heard:

- Chouji Akimichi.

A stout, brown haired kid, who had a potato chips bag in his hands, ran to the classroom. Aiko looked at him with an interesting look, and then she turned to see his parents. Chouza Akimichi looked at her seriously, and she realized, after shivering under his gaze, that the weight was something this Clan used as their tool in battle, so she'd rather not mess with the kid about that. She called a couple of more names, and she said:

- Kikuchi Rakurai.

A white-haired girl was entering the classroom. She wore a light green, long-sleeved blouse, and light yellow pants. She was hugged by her mother and father, and she ran to the classroom, also excited. Aiko, watching the scene, giggled a bit, and called for another name:

- Ino Yamanaka.

A blond girl, hair tied in a ponytail, dressed in a fashioned purple top and skirt, walked to the classroom. Her father, Inoichi, didn't know what to do about her girl's popularity issues, but Aiko noticed this too, and she grinned at him. She called another name:

- Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke was glad. At least, he'd be with known kids in the classroom. Fugaku and Mikoto waved him goodbye as he entered the classroom. Aiko called some more names and said:

- Shirogane Kinzoku.

A gray-haired kid, wearing a lead-gray colored jacket and black pants, walked slowly to the classroom. He seemed to be quite sleepy, and both his parents face-palmed. This was the second _bored_ kid Aiko would have in her classroom. She called for other names:

- Kiba Inuzuka.

A brown-haired boy, wearing a heavy, gray coat, with red fang marks on his cheeks, entered the classroom quite fast. She called for another name:

- Shiroboshi Yozora.

A black-haired girl with a white hair strand jumping ahead of her forehead walked to the classroom, also eager to begin classes. Aiko called a few more names, and said, finishing:

- And, at last, Shino Aburame.

In that moment, a brown-haired kid, wearing a gray jacket that covered half his face and dark glasses that covered his eyes, walked slowly to the classroom. Aiko said:

- Well, this is my class: thirty children. If any of the parents has any questions about the evaluation system, you just have to come around and ask me about them. The new kids who, by any reason, were called for the Second Year, you'll go with my friend here.

Aiko pointed at a man who wore a dark cloth in his head, with black eyes and dressed the same way as Aiko. He said:

- I'm Akikaze Kurosawa. I'm the teacher in the Second Year. Those of you who wish to take the Second Year test will follow me.

Neji Hyuuga followed him, and so did a small group of three or four kids. A brown-haired girl, hair tied in a couple of buns over her head, and dressed in Chinese-like clothes, ran to Neji's side, surprising him:

- Neji! You made it here!

Neji saw the girl and recognized her from the Hidden Leaf's Ninja Academy:

- Tenten, hi… Glad to know I'm not alone in this mess…

Tenten, a lot happy, said:

- There's Rock Lee too. Apparently, his parents sent him to the academy again.

Neji knew who Rock Lee was. He seemed to be a weird guy, and also he was known for not being able to use chakra properly. Neji seemed to feel sorry for the kid, but he secretly admired his constant and also great efforts, just to become a ninja. He said:

- Well, I just hope he can make it through the tests.

Tenten nodded, and the group followed Akikaze Kurosawa.

As the other kids were called, the group of parents left the place. The ex-Leaf Ninjas were intercepted by a Whirlwind Ninja who covered her face with a veil:

- Lord Uzukage calls for you, Clans' heads.

Minato and Kushina nodded, as the other Clans' heads started following the Jounin kunoichi. The thing was that they weren't taken to the Uzukage's office, but to the training complex in the far south of the village.

Once they arrived, they saw Kon'en Sarutobi and the other ninjas of the Leaf. Minato saw that Kakashi Hatake, Himitsu Hyuuga, Obito Uchiha, Asuma Sarutobi, Rin Inuzuka and other great clan-less ninjas were present in the place too. The Uzukage greeted them all and said:

- We're well aware of your stories, and also of your ranks in the Hidden Leaf. Anyways, we need to test your abilities, to see if you can achieve the ranks you said you had in the Hidden Leaf, and to grant your families your new jobs in the Village. So, I should put you all to test.

In the Ninja Academy, Aiko Tenchi stepped up in front of the classroom. The thirty students saw the pretty teacher, who looked at them with a reassuring face. She said:

- Well, kids, welcome to the Hidden Whirlpool Ninja Academy. In four years you'll learn the basic stuff to become ninjas who will serve the Hidden Village. Hopefully, a lot of you will end up making career as ninjas, and become even greater ninjas than me. I will be your teacher, Aiko Tenchi. Well, let's start classes.

The group of children started seeing the History Class, and some of the students were a bit bored. Shikamaru Nara was a bit bored, even when he took notes in his notebook. Shirogane Kinzoku was also about to fall asleep, and some of the students were feeling uncomfortable with that. Hinata was trying to pay attention, as this could be important somehow, and Naruto was rather interested during this class. Knowing the truth of his mother's bedtime stories was interesting.

Two hours later, Aiko took them to the physical training class. She took them to the small outdoor gym and said:

- Well, kids, this is the place where we'll train your physical condition. You must have a good physical condition if you wish to become ninjas.

Hikari Kashikoi asked:

- What shall we do in here, teacher?

Aiko replied, grinning:

- We'll make you sweat hard here! We will work your physical condition: your strength, your agility, your stamina, your speed and your reflexes!

Chouji gulped, and Shikamaru replied:

- Aargh, how troublesome.

Ino and other kids laughed at him. Naruto was eager and replied:

- Well! What do we have to do?

Aiko smiled at the eagerness of the young son of Kushina Uzumaki and replied:

- Follow me then!

Aiko started the rough training sessions with the young kids, and many of them seemed to have some problems with their physical condition. Aiko realized that her job would be tougher than she thought, but she was quite content to see that the children who came from the Clans were not having too many issues with the physical training. _They still need to be trained roughly, but they're doing great._

They all received their respective books for their subjects: math, history, literature, physics, combat, weapons, chakra theory and practice, politics and anatomy. Naruto was carrying his backpack with some troubles after the class ended, and he realized that everyone was having the same trouble. Hinata ran to his side and said:

- Naruto-kun! W-wait!

Naruto stood until the young Hyuuga girl reached his side. She said:

- W-what will you do, a-a-after lunch?

Naruto saw her pinky blush and said, smiling playfully at her pretty lavender eyes:

- Well, I thought about going out or something. Man, dad and mom warned me that this would be boring, but I never thought it would be _that much_ boring. Have anything in mind?

Hinata started stuttering again:

- W-w-well, Na-Naruto-kun, I-I-I was t-thinking a-about s-s-studying with… w-with you, to-today…

Naruto started thinking that it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a studying partner. Any question he'd have he could consult it with her, and if not, he'd ask them to his parents later. On the other side, when they ended, they could go out and play, or something. He made a "thumbs-up" sign with his hand and said:

- Okay, then! How about we study in my house after lunch?

Hinata nodded, sighing in relief:

- S-sure, Naruto-kun! I-I'll see you there!

Naruto asked, friendly:

- Want me to walk you home? It's not far from here, is it?

Hinata blushed deeper:

- N-no, thanks, Na-Naruto-k-kun! F-father sh-should be arriving s-soon!

Naruto realized that his parents would also be arriving for him at any time. He replied:

- Yeah, you're right, Hinata-chan. Well, let's wait for them to arrive.

Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino came out of the Academy, chatting for a while. They saw Naruto and Hinata and got close to them. Ino said:

- Hello, buddies! What's up?

Hinata said:

- U-um, hi, Ino!

Shikamaru said:

- Damn, dude, these classes are boring.

Chouji said:

- Yeah, I hated the physical condition class.

Naruto laughed:

- Yeah, friends! I also didn't think it'd be so boring, yet it was quite nice! That teacher is just awesome!

In that moment, they saw Shiroboshi Yozora and Kikuchi Rakurai talking to Sasuke, and he was quite ashamed, surrounded by the two girls. Shikamaru yawned and Naruto laughed soundly:

- Hey, Sasuke! Nice job!

Hinata giggled, as the rest of the group laughed with Sasuke's huge blush. He replied:

- At least I got two, unlike you!

Naruto started joking with Sasuke, and the group was amused with the exchange of teases. Then, they all would start talking together, as Kiba and Shino also joined the group. Later on, the young Sakura arrived to the place, getting beside Ino. These two girls seemed to get along quite well, but Sakura was a bit shy. Not as much as Hinata, but, on the other side, unlike her, she didn't have any friends before school. In the end, they'd all be waiting for their parents to go and pick them up.

In the large training complex, the Uzukage saw the tired group of ex-Leaf ninjas in front of him, and said, quite glad:

- Well, well, I can see you are pretty strong, after all. I have no complaints about you, so, I'm proud to bid you, and your families, the official welcome to the Hidden Whirlpool Ninja Ranks. Congratulations.

Minato and the Clans' heads, so as the Jounin and Chuunin who made the tough skill test, received the official headbands with the logo of the Hidden Whirlpool Village: a rounded spiral heading to the center anti-clockwise (just like the Hidden Leaf symbol, but only with the spiral). The group wore the headbands, and looked at each other with them, happy that their skill demonstrations were good enough. The Uzukage said:

- Congratulations, once more, and now I'm proud to say that there are now thirteen Clans in the Hidden Whirlpool Village. I really hope that, from now on, we won't have to endure any more troubles around here.

Kushina said:

- It won't be easy, father, but I'm sure things could be easier. The big issue now is the possibility of raising the agriculture and farm, so there's enough food for us all.

Shibi Aburame said:

- We could collaborate with that.

The Uzukage said:

- I know you can, my friends, and I'd like that. But, if we do things the right way, we could attract more civilian population around here again, and the food production works wouldn't fall on your shoulders, as you'd be managing the safety of the people with us.

Shikaku Nara said, quite concerned:

- But, making that kind of propaganda about our Ninja Village wouldn't be against our interests in the end?

The Uzukage smiled:

- Not if it's done the right way. Now, please, go get your children at school and relax for the rest of the day. You should let me handle this, for now, and if I need any assistance, I'm sure I'll ask for it - Glancing at the group of "independent" ninjas, he replied: -. About you all, I guess I'll have to interview you guys, and then put you where you can do your best.

The _new_ Whirlpool ninjas bowed to the Uzukage and left, and the dignitary grinned, going back to his office. He had plans for this complete rebirth of his Village, and he knew that, if he didn't do them himself, they'd never come out at all.

End of Chapter 11.

A/N: For those who asked, I gave a lot about Naruto and the kids now, but I still needed to clear the parents' situation a bit before I could let them take a break, heh, heh. Please enjoy and review! About the new names, I shall let you find out on your own this time, heh, heh!


	12. Chapter 12: The New Friends

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter 12: The New Friends.

A year and a half had passed since the Escape of the Clans. Danzou and Orochimaru were doing a hard work on their experiments, trying to collect as many DNA samples from the world's Clans. They already had blood samples from the Leaf's Clans, thanks to Orochimaru's assault, and now a couple of Leaf Ninjas were returning to the underground place where Orochimaru made his experiments, inside the Hidden Leaf's grounds.

They were a couple of young ninjas who could be easily taken into the methods and system of the ANBU Root organization: a couple of teenagers from the Yamanaka and the Aburame Clans who were abducted from their families during the assault to the Leaf's Clans.

They seemed to arrive quite wounded, but they were carrying their pouches quite carefully, avoiding them from hitting the ground or the walls. As they entered the place where Danzou and Orochimaru made their work, they saw the old Hokage and the Snake Lord together, working like mad. The Aburame guy said:

- Lord Danzou, Lord Orochimaru. We've arrived from the Hidden Mist Village, and brought you what you requested.

Danzou saw the youngsters and said:

- Thanks, Torune. Please, leave them in this table and leave.

The Yamanaka ninja said, as both he and Torune left the blood samples in the table as asked:

- Lord Danzou, you should be careful about the Hidden Mist. They're slaying their own bloodline traits by the Mizukage's orders. If they trace them to you, there could be war before the expected.

Danzou granted the debriefing on the mission:

- That's actually good to know, Fu. Thank you. Now, please, get out of here. In an hour we can meet in the Hokage's office for the whole debriefing.

Fu and Torune bowed to the Hokage and left. They were trained to not let any information about Danzou's plans slip up, and also Danzou took precautions, sealing the kids' tongues to avoid them to even dare to say a word; a standard procedure within the Root ranks.

Orochimaru saw the labels in the blood samples, and realized that these could be great assets to be maintained and bred. The whole Ninja Clans of the Continent at Danzou's service… and his.

Danzou asked:

- What happened with the attempts of inserting the Leaf's Clans' blood in the recipients?

Orochimaru was checking on his own notes and said:

- They're still under surveillance. Ten kids have been treated for each Clan, and we still need to wait for a while to see if the blood isn't rejected at all. The treatment with the couple of Mist Clans' samples you've got ended up in miserable failure. Perhaps the samples were too old, or just not refrigerated in time.

Danzou replied:

- Well, then I shall go and get the whole debriefing on those two youngsters. They seem quite promising, you know.

Orochimaru said, quite concerned:

- I really didn't like to hear that they were saying, about the Mizukage's killing campaign against the bloodline trait carriers.

Danzou shook his head, also concerned:

- Me neither. It's like if somehow, the Hidden Mist knew of our operation, and now tries to undo our collecting campaign in a rather harsh way. We should try and replicate as many samples as we can.

As Danzou started leaving the place, he said:

- I've already sent my agents into the Hidden Cloud Village to gather some more samples. I just hope this doesn't get too messy, or I'll have to start stealing children in small villages to raise our amount of lab rats.

Orochimaru chuckled ironically, and returned to his work, as Danzou left.

In the Hidden Whirlpool Village, Kushina rested quietly as Minato brought her some sweets. Minato said, laughing a bit nervously, as he entered the Uzumaki manor:

- Damn, my dear! Those sweets were just impossible to find over here! I had to pay some extra money to the pastry baker to make them exclusively for you!

Kushina looked at those sweet buns, which were iced with colored glaze and filled with chocolate, and started eating, not even saying a word to Minato. The blonde ninja was amazed to see how much sweets his dearest could eat while pregnant, and he actually bet that she's eating a lot more than when she was pregnant with Naruto. _Damn, I just forgot how voracious she was when reaching the eighth month of the pregnancy period._

As she finished, the relief expression in her face became a lovely expression directed only for Minato. She jumped to his arms and kissed his lips passionately and said:

- Thank you so much, my dear! I'm sorry for all the trouble!

Minato just said, smiling gently:

- Don't worry, sweetheart; this second baby will appreciate it, I know!

Kushina kissed Minato's lips, and then the front door was knocked. Both walked to it and opened, seeing a young Hinata Hyuuga waiting outside, with some books and notebooks in her open backpack. She asked:

- G-g-good afternoon, lord Namikaze, lady Uzumaki. I-is Naruto-kun there?

Kushina saw the eight-year old girl with tender eyes and said:

- Sure, Hinata-chan! He's actually waiting for you in the back yard.

Minato said, also smiling at the young Hyuuga:

- Feel free to go in and get to him!

Hinata smiled, blushing, and walked into the house, a bit nervous. _What's going on with you, girl? You've entered this place so many times to see Naruto-kun! Stop being so silly and get over with!_ Hinata was punishing herself too hard for her shyness when she finally made it into the back yard. A well-known voice called at her:

- Hinata-chan!! You're here!!

Hinata tried to check out where Naruto was hiding, as he usually liked to pull pranks on the people. She decided to use her Byakugan to look for him, and also she knew that this would work for her as training in the proper usage of those lavender eyes. She found her favorite blonde in a branch of a tree and walked to the tree, saying:

- Na-Naruto-kun! I-I'm here!

Naruto laughed soundly, seeing the overgrowing blush in Hinata's cheeks, and jumped down to face her. He was also a bit blushed, and he said to her, scratching his head with a hand:

- I'm sorry, Hinata-chan! I just laughed because you said the exact same thing I just said! Come on!

Hinata replied, stuttering even more, and with sad voice:

- N-N-Naruto-k-kun… I-I'm sorry, I had l-l-lunch late at h-home; and n-neither Fa-Father nor M-Mother would bring me here…

Naruto didn't actually care about Hinata's arrival time at his home for studying and playing. Sure she always arrived on time, and Naruto actually liked that, as she would have good time to study and enough time to spend with him together, but today she arrived half an hour late, and she felt like crap. Naruto got close to her and whispered, as he wrapped her softly with his arms:

- Hinata-chan, come on, don't be sad, okay?

Hinata started crying and Naruto whispered back:

- Hinata-chan… Come here, please, calm down. I don't really care at what time you arrive, you know?

Hinata, feeling how the blood rose to her cheeks as she was crying sadly, wrapped within Naruto's arms, sobbed:

- M-My father always says that… that a H-Hyuuga ninja c-cannot f-fail to his c-compromises ever… a-and I just failed you…

Naruto held her tightly and walked with her to his room. Hinata's sobs turned softer, as she tried to not let Naruto's parents hear her voice, but Naruto sat her in his bed and he sat beside her, whispering gently:

- Hinata-chan, you haven't failed me… you're here, you see?

Hinata was mesmerized with Naruto's soothing voice, and said:

- R-really think so, Naruto-kun?

Naruto smiled at her sweetly:

- I'll only consider that you've failed me when you do something that makes me not want to be your friend anymore.

Hinata's eyes widened, and Naruto continued:

- Actually, the way I felt when I was waiting for you made me realize that I really like you… I wouldn't wait for anyone for that long! Not even my parents!

Hinata's blush turned into a new shade of red, and started feeling light headed. _Naruto-kun likes me!! _Naruto's last words made her finally pass out from bliss:

- You're my best friend, Hinata-chan, and I'd wait forever for you!

Hinata passed out with a huge smile on her face, and with a deep red color in her face. Naruto could never get the hang of her blushing and fainting, but seeing her smile like that was something he really enjoyed. _She never smiled like that before, and I actually like that smile of hers. If only I could do something to make her smile even more… Perhaps I'll just ask mom or dad about that later. I'd better go get some water for Hinata-chan._

After several minutes, Hinata woke up, seeing a smiling Naruto offering her a glass of water. She asked:

- N-Naruto-kun… i-is this water… for me?

Naruto grinned:

- Sure! After passing out like that, it's good to have some water, Hinata-chan!

Hinata blushed to a deeper red tone as she took the water and touched Naruto's fingers with hers. She drank the water then and she replied:

- T-thank you.

Naruto took Hinata's backpack and replied:

- It's okay! Let's study then! We have the exams the next week, and I need to check all of the subjects through!

Hinata nodded and smiled:

- So do I… l-let's study in here!

Naruto grinned like a fox, and Hinata's heart melted up again, blushing furiously as she tried to take her stuff off her backpack. After a while, they were studying.

Kushina and Minato were checking on the kids secretly, listening to their ramblings as they smiled quietly:

- Hinata-chan, does this mean that we still have to make some more exercises?

- S-sure, Naruto-kun. T-This section of the subject is q-quite d-difficult…

- Damn, I hate physics!!

- P-perhaps we sh-should call your p-parents; t-they might help…

The adult couple suddenly heard their names yelled in an incredibly loud and irritating voice:

- DAAAD!!!! MOOOM!!! CAAN YOU HEELP US?!?!

To avoid Naruto from screaming louder and breaking both their eardrums, so as little Hinata's, Minato and Kushina ran immediately to Naruto's room. Naruto explained then, showing his parents a guide full of physics exercises:

- Dad, mom, we're not understanding these exercises! Could you help us, pleeeease?

Minato checked the simple physics exercises and looked at Kushina. They both realized that Naruto would actually suck big time at math and physics if they didn't just try to explain him in some other way. Sure it was a bonus for Hinata to receive easier explanations, and it also would help her understand how Naruto's mind worked, if they were meant to be together as it seemed to be.

Minato read the exercise and said:

- Look, Naruto, Hinata. These are much easier to explain with some real action. Follow me.

As they reached for the backyard, Minato drew a shuriken and explained them the exercise with some live action. Also, the children would learn also how to throw real shuriken, unlike in the Ninja Academy.

After a couple of hours of making some more physics exercises, they all decided to go out for a while and go to the park. Kushina wanted to walk and get some fresh air, as it would help her for her pregnancy to keep herself active, and Minato just didn't want to stay at home.

Hinata was amazed about how Naruto's fathers were just so cool, being able to adapt the academy's teachings to a language Naruto could understand easier; and also she was amazed about how Naruto learned a lot faster when understanding in real life, and in an easier language, how the physics and math formulas worked.

When they reached the park, they saw that there were lots of other kids around. Naruto could recognize Shikamaru, lying on the ground and watching the clouds, and this boy Shirogane also lying beside him, talking about whatever crossed their minds. Chouji was around, eating some cookies and paying no attention to anything else, and beside him there were Ino and Sakura talking about girl stuff.

Sasuke was in the pipe gym, playing with Kiba and Kikuchi, and Naruto decided to go with them. Hinata blushed as he held her hand to take her with him, and she followed him around. Sasuke saw them and said:

- Hey! Naruto, Hinata! Over here! Come meet some of the new guys!

Naruto and Hinata climbed up and met with Sasuke's two new friends. Kikuchi said:

- You're the famous Naruto Namikaze, the son of Lady Kushina Uzukami, right?

Naruto nodded with the head, and then Kikuchi saw the Hyuuga girl:

- And you're Hinata Hyuuga, right? You're the user of the Byakugan, not?

Hinata nodded. Kikuchi said:

- My name is Kikuchi, and I'm a young Lightning Chakra user!

Naruto replied:

- I can use Air Chakra!

Kiba replied:

- I'm Kiba Inuzuka! I'm from the Hidden Leaf, just like you!

Hinata said to him:

- H-Hi!

Naruto replied to him:

- You're the kid of the dogs, Kiba?

Kiba said, a bit eager:

- Not yet, but for my next birthday I'll have my own dog! It's awesome!

Sasuke replied:

- Sure it is, Kiba!

Kikuchi said:

- There are some other guys from the classroom in here! Let's go check them out!

Kiba asked then:

- You think they want to come with us? Shikamaru and Shirogane are lying there on the floor like assholes, Chouji's only friend is the cookie package, Ino and Sakura are surely gossiping…

Kiba turned to another side and watched another couple of kids who seemed to have a lot of fun, and said:

- There are Hikari and Shino, playing whatever with his bugs… perhaps we could go with them! What do you say?

Hinata looked at Naruto, who just said:

- Playing with bugs?! Sounds cool! What do you think, Hinata-chan?!

Hinata said, smiling:

- I-I-If y-you go, Naruto-kun, I'll g-go with you!

Naruto smiled back at her and jumped to the floor quickly, falling and rolling on the ground skillfully. Hinata decided to give it a try too, and she jumped either, falling also on the ground, and rolling, but she seemed not to fall too good, and she hurt her ankle. She said, a bit in pain:

- Nnngh! It hurts, Naruto-kun!

Naruto jumped to see Hinata's ankle, and the rest of the group ran to her. Kikuchi armed hand seals and her hands glowed in blue. She put the glowing hand in Hinata's ankle, and the Hyuuga girl felt how it healed slowly. The other kids were surprised, and Sasuke said, when Kikuchi finished:

- Wow!! That's just amazing, Kikuchi! You're also a medic?

Kikuchi blushed and replied:

- Well, I learned a thing or two with dad, Sasuke-kun, Kiba-kun, but not too much…

Kiba said:

- You're a medic ninja! That's awesome!

Hinata felt her ankle like new again and said:

- T-thank you, Kikuchi…

The white-haired girl just replied:

- No problem at all, Hinata, we're friends, after all, not?

Hinata smiled at her and Naruto said:

- See, Hinata-chan? Now we have some more friends! Isn't it great?

Hinata nodded, and Kiba said again:

- Well, the one who gets last to Shino's place will be the dumb of the class for a month!

Sasuke replied:

- Deal! Let's go, Hinata!

Hinata stood up, with Naruto's help, and then the group ran to meet Hikari and Shino. Meanwhile, Ino and Sakura were talking. Ino said:

- There are so many impressive things in this new village, Sakura! This is just so awesome, don't you think?

Sakura wasn't answering, as her eyes were fixed on a certain raven-haired boy who played around with a rather large group of kids. Ino noticed this and said:

- Oooh! You like Sasuke-kun, don't you, pinky?!

Sakura, a bit ashamed, replied:

- Um, yes… but I don't think I'm even at his standards, Ino…

Ino just laughed soundly:

- Well then, you'll have to do a great effort to earn his attention! Because Sasuke-kun will be mine, Billboard Brow!

This made Sakura upset and said:

- Don't you dare to, Ino Pig!! I'll get at him before you do!!

Suddenly, the two girls started screaming and yelling at each other, what made Chouji walk away:

- Damn! And these are, allegedly, best friends! What a mess, huh?

Shikamaru and Shirogane saw Chouji get close to them and sit beside them. Shikamaru said:

- Hey, Chouji. You're eating cookies now? What about the potato chips?

Chouji smiled:

- Well, The cookies are amazingly delicious, Shikamaru! Try one!

Shirogane said:

- Um, those cookies are great, Chouji! I have my own package at home, but I shouldn't bring them here! Every kid I know loves those cookies…

Shikamaru received the cookie and said:

- Hey, dude, when it's about food, Chouji fights like a demon, and I'm sure no kid will be able to defeat him.

Chouji chuckled and Shirogane said, a bit innocently:

- I've got a lot to learn from you two! Let's be friends, okay?

Chouji and Shikamaru laughed soundly and shook hands with the Kinzoku kid. Chouji said:

- As ninjas, we'll end up being friends, and maybe even teammates…

Shirogane said then:

- Well, let's rest for a while and see the girls pull their hairs and yell at each other! It's kind of fun!

Chouji chuckled and Shikamaru just replied:

- Fun, but troublesome… even more when one of the girls is your neighbor, and waltzes in your house to fill your ears with unnecessary gossip.

Shirogane laughed soundly, and Chouji chuckled, eating some more cookies.

A girl ran to the group of fighting females and yelled:

- Ino! Sakura! Why are you fighting now?

Ino and Sakura replied, at the same time, not even letting go of the other's hair:

- SHE WANTS TO TAKE SASUKE-KUN OFF FROM ME, SHIROBOSHI!!

Shiroboshi face palmed, and sweat dropped, as she replied dryly:

- You're wasting your time, girls. Sasuke is playing nicely with Kikuchi, Hinata and Hikari over there…

Both Ino and Sakura glared daggers at Shiroboshi, making her a little nervous. She just said:

- W-well, look over there, instead of fighting each other! The other guys are also there with them!

Ino and Sakura turned again to where Sasuke was, and they saw that another kid had joined their group. Kawabuchi joined the game with the bugs, playing with Shino, Sasuke and the other kids. The pink-haired and the blonde decided to walk there and do something, but Shiroboshi just stood in their way, saying nervously:

- Come on! We're not going to make a mess around this place, are we?

- Sure as hell! – Ino's reply was fearsome. Sakura's was even more dreadful:

- I won't let any other girl around _my_ Sasuke-kun!

Shiroboshi yelled then, as both Ino and Sakura were completely meant to trample over her and keep on their way to chaos and destruction:

- Sasuke will not pay you any attention as long as you keep behaving as such assholes!!

This made both girls freeze on the ground… so as the rest of the kids who played in the park. Shiroboshi realized then that she had yelled too loud, and then she realized that Naruto said:

- Sasuke! You've got fan girls! Heh, heh, heh!!

Sasuke blushed like mad, yelling as Naruto and Kiba laughed:

- Shut the hell up!!

Of course, Kikuchi was mad to see that both Sakura and Ino were those fan girls, after seeing their ashamed looks and how they started screaming at Shiroboshi. Shino just said, making Hikari laugh even more:

- The worst thing is, they're not the only ones, Kikuchi…

Needless to say, Kikuchi replied, looking at Sasuke:

- Damn, kid, you've got it bad with these girls… if you need any kind of protection, or solace, I can keep them away from you!

Sasuke saw the blushing in the white girl and replied with a smile:

- Sure I will! At least you're not a weirdo like them, but a friend!

Of course, this made the trio of fighting girls freeze in their places. Ino and Sakura looked at each other, and crossed lightning struck between them. Shiroboshi looked at them, hopeless. _These __**best friends**__ are willing to fight each other for the same guy… the same guy who doesn't even care about them._ The Yozora girl sat with Shikamaru and his new gang, talking to them for a while, and leaving the fan girls on their own mess.

Of course, the groups of parents were quite amused, and Kushina laughed like mad. Sasuke didn't even mind about that situation anymore, and kept on playing with his friends. After a while, every single kid was taken by their parents, going home as the sun started hiding in the western horizon.

End of Chapter 12.

A/N: Even when stories become different, some things will never change. I just couldn't stop messing up with the Ino/Sakura theme. On the other side, Danzou's problems are just starting, as many people started asking for it.


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